


Omegaverse Extras

by jillwoa



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Abandonment, Alpha Iwaizumi Hajime, Alpha Kageyama Tobio, Alpha Oikawa Tooru, Alpha/Alpha, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Anal Sex, Angry Sex, Angst, Asexual Character, Attempted Seduction, Blood, Child Abandonment, Childhood Friends, Crying Kageyama Tobio, Drugs, End of the World, Headcanon, Heavy Angst, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Going to Hell, M/M, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Miscarriage, Mpreg, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Omega Hinata Shouyou, Omega Kageyama Tobio, Omega Verse, Omegas get the Short Stick in Life, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Orgasm Denial, Original Character(s), Ownership, Pain, Past Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Rape, Rape Aftermath, Seduction, Sharing Body Heat, Unfair World, Violence, What Have I Done, Why Did I Write This?, alpha kozu, alpha misono, i love world building, omega communities, touch starvation, virgin killing sweater
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-02-27 12:06:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 38,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13247880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jillwoa/pseuds/jillwoa
Summary: A series of either world building stories, character backstories, or fun little headcanons of mine. Some are canon, some arent. Each one will have their own warnings at the beginning.Extras will be from either one of my stories already published, or just something random. Again, ill mention at the beginning of each chapter





	1. Virgin Killing Sweater

**Author's Note:**

> so chapter 1, is mamoruxkozu. Its non-canon, set in the future a bit, or just kind of floating around the timeline willy nilly.  
> um as for warnings.. Mamoru drugs Kozu but there's nothing explicit.

“This should work” Mamoru whispered, pouring a little liquid into Kozus portion of the sauce, mixing it furiously to try and make sure it was unnoticeable before pouring it on top of the food. He had heard it had been scentless and tasteless, but had added extra chicken stock just in case.  The guy he had bought the potion from had promised it took about an hour to take effect, but that it messed with the memories a bit.

“Dinner!” he called cheerfully, setting the bowls in his pack members allotted chairs. He added the forks necessary, napkins and cups, changing the placement after a moment. “Guys!” he whined impatiently, nervously adjusting the bowls and table adornments.

It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was a special night. It was Mamorus birthday, and he wanted to have a good dinner, before spending an evening with Kozu. The Alpha had already agreed to 2 movies, in which Mamoru could sit in his lap, and that he would send the other two pack members away.

The movies were unimportant, Mamoru was just excited to be in Kozus arms.

One by one the members descended. Hinata walked uncomfortably, groaning as he sat in the chair. The boy was gaining a belly, which his small frame wasn’t used to the extra weight. He had been extra clumsy lately, and after an incident at practice had been permanently benched.

“Eat up Hii-kun. Daichi-san is gunna be here in 30 minutes” he looked at his phone and sat down. Misono came down and sat down and started eating. Misono was going to his friends for the night. They would probably spend the night with some omegas his friends would pick up. Mamoru had overheard their conversation earlier.. The more Mamoru got to know Misono the more he didn’t want to get to know him.

Finally, the man of the hour arrived and Mamoru felt his chest pound. Any second now Kozu would be eating, and slowly the potion would take effect.

Mamoru adjusted the napkin one more time before smiling up at his Alpha. “Hey boo~” he giggled excitedly.

Kozu allowed the nickname once because it was Mamorus birthday, but the look he gave said to not push it.

The dinner was quiet, Mamoru was more focussed on making sure Kozu ate everything. That’s why the meal was Kozus favorite, fried rice. He wanted to make sure every drop was absorbed into the alpha for maximum effect!

A knock at the door jolted Mamoru from his intense stare.

“That’ll be Daichi” he stood up, and took Hinatas hand. “How’s your knee?” he asked, helping him walk.

“Its okay, its still sore sometimes. Especially when I use it” he grabbed his bag and opened the door.

The Karasuno captain smiled at the orange furball and mussed his hair. “Hey Hinata” he gave a small wave to Kozu and a nod to Mamoru. “Let’s go” they headed to the car, a nervous Kageyama in the back seat already. Hinata wanted to run to the car but he couldn’t run. It hurt to move fast right now; it hurt to move really at any speed. He wanted to bury himself in Kageyama and let him make everything better. He was technically spending the night at Daichis house with Kageyama, but without Daichi. The captain was giving the two the night alone, not that the Ikazukis needed to know that.

Closing the door Mamoru glared at Misono and his empty plate. “Let me take that” Mamoru chimed, his voice laced with annoyance. He took the plate and the napkin and the utensils, essentially clearing Misonos spot. “Your friends are waiting” he kept his voice peppy but was essentially kicking Misono out.

The boy grumbled and stood up. “well fuck you too” he pulled his hood over his head and shoved his hands into his pocket, heading to the front door and leaving.

The door slammed but that didn’t deter Mamoru. “All alone~” he smiled at Kozu, rocking on the bottoms of his feet. “Can we start that first movie now?” he asked.

Kozu nodded and stood up, taking his plate into the kitchen. “Ill do the dishes” he offered, but Mamoru was too impatient.

“Its not worries!” he smiled. “I just… ill do them later. I wanna start our date night” he reached for his alphas hand. “p-please?”

“Ill do the dishes quickly. Go set up the movie and ill be 5 minutes” he said and started to fill up the sink.

“Wh-what if I dried! Ill dry the dishes you wash” he offered.

Kozu sighed and put his hands on the counter, getting annoyed. “Go set up the movie first. I hate sitting through the opening ads” he scowled a bit, making Mamoru jump.

The boy nodded and backed away from the kitchen. Part of him was sinking into himself, this wasn’t how the night was supposed to start, this wasn’t how things were supposed to go! But most of him knew once the potion kicked in that Kozu would be much nicer. He looked back at the male to see if it had started yet.

He slid in the dvd for the first harry potter movie, and muted the commercials. He looked back at Kozu and bit his lip. What if I didn’t work? Then his plan would be for naught..

The man he bought the potion from said it amplified the sexual desire of its victim by 10-fold, but.. what if Kozu didn’t have any sexual desire? The man wasn’t interested in any of his mates, he never dated, even that kiss had been forced and unreciprocated!

Then the thought struck him. What if the potion was poison. What if it hurt Kozu!?

Almost if on cue Kozu let out a cough and Mamoru went into a panic. “Kozu!” he ran over to him, his heart pounding out of his chest. “Are you okay? Do you feel sick? Are you okay?” he pressed his hand to Kozus forehead, and reached for his wrist to check his pulse.

He fussed over the alpha for a few seconds before he heard the man speak.

“What are you doing?”

Kozu sounded completely fine. He didn’t sound sick, he didn’t sound like he was dying. Mamoru looked up at him with relief, only to notice the blush that covered his cheeks.

The panic rose into Mamorus chest, transforming into pure giddiness. He had never seen Kozu looking like that. The blush was absolutely precious, and it took every fiber in Mamorus body to not coo over how cute he was.

“Let’s go you weirdo” Kozu said and headed to the livingroom.

“Im just gunna go get changed” Mamoru said. “Hinata got me a shirt that’s really cute” He lied, and ran upstairs.

He had found this online, and ordered it months ago, before Hinata was even part of their family. It was online for a while, and Mamoru never thought he would ever have the chance to wear it.

He stripped and opened the bag, sliding the shirt on. He slid off his pants and made sure to grab special underwear, to go with the special shirt.

The ‘virgin killing sweater’ as it was dubbed was an open back, sleeveless shirt that covered the brunt of his butt, but given any kind of tilt would reveal all of the goodies.

Sliding his hair up into a loose bun he checked himself in the mirror. His smooth back was revealed, all the way from his neck to his butt. He didn’t have a chest to fill it out, but he still felt naughty. The one thing he didn’t like was that it covered his Mark. It had a turtleneck type top, and he had tried rolling down the top, but it suffocated him and rolled back up.  Hopefully Kozu was too turned on to notice.

Looking at himself one more time he couldn’t help but feel sexy. He looked hot, objectively. He didn’t have a bad body, and he wanted Kozu to see him like this. Maybe Kozu would remember this as a dream and be more open to Mamorus advances later on?

Walking down the stairs barefoot felt so naughty, and he tried to look nonchalant. He walked over to Kozu and gave a little pose, not revealing the back yet. “How does it look?”

Kozu looked surprised and gave a little cough. “it’s a little short don’t you think” he said, averting his eyes.

Mamoru giggled. “hmm, maybe if I was a girl, but you’re not looking are you” he said as more of a statement. “So, its fine” he turned around so he could sit in Kozus lap, showing off his bare back, that was about to be pressed to Kozus chest.

The alpha tensed when Mamoru sat, and didn’t wrap his arms around the mate, like he had promised to. Mamoru bit his lip to hide his happiness. The potion had partially worked. At least Kozu was flustered at the outfit, and that was really enough. It was enough that Kozu was reacting to his outfit, to seeing his body. That meant that at least 1/10th of him saw Mamoru as a sexual person, right? Or that 1/10th of him thought Mamoru was sexy?

Mamoru relaxed into Kozus body and hummed. “happy birthday to me” he whispered.

Halfway through the movie, Kozus hand rose, slowly, and placed itself on Mamorus thigh, his naked thigh.

Mamoru didn’t respond, but he watched what was happening.

15 minutes went by and Kozus hand slid up, his thumb sliding under the sweater.

Mamorus eyes widened, but nothing else happened.

Just as the movie neared finishing, Mamoru looked up at his alpha, and was surprised to gave his gaze met, and the alpha to look so.. so much like a teenager. The blush, the smile, the.. everything. Kozu looked so.. horny.

Mamoru turned back to the movie but he couldn’t concentrate. Kozus hand was sliding more and more up his thigh. He was running out of thigh!

Mamoru wasn’t sure what to do in the situation. He wasn’t even sure the potion was going to work, let alone Kozu making the first move!

The decision was made for them though as Mamoru felt something against his back, what made him jump up and off the couch. He turned to face Kozu and confess what he did, but he stopped short when he saw the look on his alphas face. The completely broken down, look of wanting. Kozus cheeks were red, he was breathing hard, his chest pounding more than ever. And the look.. such intent, such desire.. directed at him, at Mamoru.

It was too much. It was everything. It was impossible. Mamorus was the one who actually drank the potion. He was dying, this was a hallucinogenic dream, he was in heaven. He had actually died and fallen face first into the food, or he had fallen and drowned in the dish water. There was no way Kozu was looking at him and wanting him. Absolutely no way.

“get. Over. Here” The Alpha huffed out, reaching for the betas hand to pulled him back to the couch.

Mamoru took a step forwards and felt Kozus forehead. “Are you okay?” he asked, biting his lip. “what’s my name, where are you?” he asked, looking into the face of an alpha he didn’t recognize. He had never seen Kozu so out of control like this . Was this what other alphas were like?

“I am your alpha, who the fuck are you to be questioning me” He gripped the front of the sweater and pulled Mamoru onto the couch, raised on his knees, making sure to run his hand up the smooth calves and up the back of his thighs.

Mamoru jumped and looked down at Kozu. “Kozu..” he felt the hand on his skin, and felt it slide under the sweater to touch his bum. “Are you going to fuck me?” he asked, pushing his chest towards the alpha.

“that’s putting it nicely”


	2. Mamorus Marking Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Mamoru came to bear Kozu Ikazukis Mark.
> 
> Also Kozu Alpha presentation. 
> 
> Its a rollercoaster.

Nothing could compare. The taste, the feel, the utter sound of the pulse was taunting him, and it was finally his. His teeth finally closed around the pulse, the skin breaking apart under his touch, it was HIS.

Kozu inhaled as he held onto the pulse, claiming it as his own. It was already in his mind, filling his senses with it. He would never forget the deep, frantic beating under him. He would never have to, it was now his. His to indulge in, to tear apart, to hold, it was HIS.

The taste filled his mouth, the sickly iron taste on his lips. With each passing second he could taste more, he wanted more. He wanted it all, it was HIS.

Nothing else mattered, not now that he had what was his. He could feel the heartbeat thrumming underneath him, faster and faster as he indulged himself, taking his time to enjoy every single second. It was HIS.

The first bite had been perfect, the sound of the skin tearing, the sound of his teeth breaking into the skin, it was all so perfect, he wanted it even more. He dug his nails into the skin underneath him, loving the feeling of the pulse quickening under the skin. He needed more.

He pried his teeth from the jagged holes created in haste and repositioned himself to get an even better angle. His mouth closed around the pulse again, digging deeper, claiming every single solitary cell that he could get his hands on. There would be no question, this was HIS. 

Time didn’t matter anymore, it went by so fast, and so slow. The pulse under him was an unreliable clock. All too soon he felt a presence in his space. A growl ripped up his throat when he felt them get too close, as if they were coming for what belonged to HIM!

His attention was refocused again when he felt the hands from underneath him, gripping him pushing, him away. But the struggle made him want it even more. The challenge, the heat, he wasn’t letting go of this any time soon.

Well it wasn’t his choice. He felt fingers grip his jaw and force his mouth open. His teeth slid from the skin and he was pulled away from the hot pulse underneath him. Kozu felt another growl rip from his throat, directed at whoever dared touching him, but he could still feel the separation between him and what was his growing colder. His hands reached out to try and grab hold of what belonged to him, but his hands were forced back.

“-zuki! Ikazuki!” an Alphas voice hit the air, ripping through Kozu for a solitary second. Just long enough to draw his attention to where he was.

The harsh lights of sun from the window made his eyes sting, like he had been in the dark for a while. He tried to move but he was being held back still. He struggled against whoever was holding him, their hands digging into his wrists. “Let go!” he screamed, trying to pull his arms down, but they were held up and away from his body.

He kicked his foot out, hitting it against a desk next to him. He screamed in pain, finally taking in his surroundings. He was in his classroom, but it was empty of students. Books were still open on the desks, and but some chairs were knocked over. When had he even gone to school?

“Ikazuki!” The Alphas voice sounded again, and he looked up at its source. It was his teacher, Yuma-sensei. He was angry. The male walked up to him and gripped Kozus face, lifting his chin harshly. He looked into his eyes, and Kozu pulled his lips back in a half growl. If he wanted a challenge he would get one.

“let go of him” the teacher said, and Kozu felt his arms drop. Kozu immediately pulled his wrists forwards and rubbed them, pissed off at having been restrained. He was even pissed off that he couldn’t turn to see who it was who thought they got to put their hands on him. But being released was also brought a huge sense of relief. He didn’t feel calm though, he wanted to just scream at everyone, and he wanted to find what belonged to him right now!

He knew that what he wanted was right behind Yuma-sensei, but if he broke the eye contact then he would lose, and he wasn’t going to lose!

“Go get the nurse” Yuma-sensei spoke to the student behind Kozu, without breaking eye contact. The student ran from the room as fast as he could. The air in the classroom was so heavy with Alpha scent, it was hard to breathe. It had less of an effect on students who hadn’t presented, but it was a scary situation, especially after watching the to-be Beta Ikazuki go feral!

The two were locked in a staring contest, neither one willing to give in. Kozu took a step towards his sensei. “Move” he growled, “its MINE, not yours!” he yelled, slamming his first on one of the desks next to him.

“Yours?” the teacher scoffed. “You want to see what’s yours?” he almost challenged. “Fine, look at what you did” he spat and stepped to the side a little, affording Kozu a small look at who was behind him.

On the floor, wedged uncomfortably between two desks lay a student. His body was bent awkwardly, like someone moved him, attacked him. He was panting, but not moving. A groan slipped from between his lips every few seconds, it sounded like he was in pain. There were bright splashes of red in his blonde hair, seeping from his neck.  The red continued to pool on the ground underneath him, staining his uniform.

“Mamoru!” Kozu shouted in surprise, before he was filled with rage once again. “What happened to him!” he turned to Yuma-sensei, furious. “Who did this!” Mamoru was his best friend, he was strong and smart and he looked like he was dying!

He turned back to his friend and pushed passed the teacher and knelt down to brush his hair back. “Mamoru” he touched his cheek, and moved his hand to the blood, feeling very clearly punctures in his skin. “What?” He felt his mouth go dry. “He’s Marked? What happened!” he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the Mark, it was horrifying, but he couldn’t help but like it. He felt his chest swell, which made Kozu feel sick. His best friend was attacked and he was.. admiring the Mark?!

“you happened, Ikazuki.” He watched the new Alpha, who seemed to be both disgusted and proud. “You did this. You attacked him in the middle of class!”

~

The day had started off simple enough. Kozu had a minor fever in the morning, but he couldn’t stay home from school. He had a fever yesterday too, but nothing really came from it. He was fine! They had a prep class for highschool entrance exams. He wanted to go to Aoba Josai, so he needed to ace his exam. His mom had pushed for him to stay home, and he had felt guilty about defying her, but he knew if he didn’t get into Aoba Josai, then his brother would never let him live it down.

His brother was preparing to graduate from Aoba Josai, leaving an open legacy for the younger brother. Expectations weren’t high though, not for a suspected Beta after all. Betas couldn’t compare to Alphas. At 14 years old Kozu already knew his place in the world. Born to a Beta mom and Alpha dad, everyone assumed Kozu would be a Beta. Everything about him screamed average. He had no defining features, he wasn’t memorable or powerful like an Alpha. He wasn’t beautiful or flirtatious like an Omega, he was just.. existing at this point.

While he was the second son to Ito Ikazuki, entrepreneur and wealthy CEO, it wouldn’t matter in the end, Kozu wasn’t in line to take over the business. His older brother and Alpha Ryuunosuke Ikazuki would take control when the time was right.

The one person who did notice him was his older brother, or half brother. Born from different mothers, Ryuunosuke was technically an illegitimate son. Born from two Alpha parents, he was almost a guaranteed Alpha. And in this world, an illegitimate Alpha was better than a legitimate Beta, and the two brothers knew that. Even if Kozu forgot, his older brother never failed to remind him.

The bullying was ignored for the most part by all parents. Kozus mother couldn’t fight back on behalf of Kozu, she was only a Beta. She had tried once, and was slapped. Kozu endured much more than a slap quite often, so maybe he resented his mother a bit for giving up so easily. But he smiled at her as she bandaged him up, reassuring her that he was okay, even when he was really in pain.

Smiling through the pain became second nature to Kozu after a while. He had to reassure teachers, neighbors, and classmates that he was okay on an almost daily basis as he came to school with new bruises or bandages. It took 3 days to reveal his wrist was fractured the past spring, and another 4 months for it to heal after he removed the cast himself to avoid the questions.

The one person who knew just how badly Kozu was hurting was Mamoru, his neighbor and childhood best friend. Mamoru was always able to see past Kozus fake smile, and the sickly-sweet reassurances didn’t affect him one bit. He had seen the bullying first hand on multiple occasions, and he knew of the nightmares it put Kozu through. Multiple times he had to rewrap injuries and ice bruises on the younger male.

“When I present as an Alpha, im going to take you away from Ryuu” he promised, all the time. Mamoru was tall, strong, he was charismatic and stubborn, all Alpha traits. All the opposite of Kozu who was short, deceitful, and ingenuine. Mamoru never lied, he never hid his feelings or beat around the bush. He was blunt and genuine the opposite of Kozu. The two were the most mismatched pairing, but Kozu couldn’t help but feel grateful to have the blonde to-be Alpha by his side.

“Morun” he would tease, “Ryuu would just come for you then” They never really had a solid plan of escape. Neither had family outside of Miyagi or any funds that they could access. The safest place the two of them could find was Mamorus house. At least his parents would show opposition to when Ryuunosuke came for Kozu. When Mamoru presented as an Alpha and was moved to a more prestigious Alpha school, its not like Kozu would be able to follow, not as a Beta.

“Ill mark you Zuzu. Then you’ll have to change schools with me. We can stay in the dorms a Partners” the nickname aside, the idea made Kozu grimace and touch his neck.

“That’s not funny” while Alpha Beta pairings weren’t uncommon, being Marked would solidify his lower status in his brother’s eyes. At least if he was unMarked, he wasn’t someone’s submissive partner.

Besides, Marking was something done between two people in love, or who wanted to start a family. While it had never been brought up specifically, the two were just friends. Kozu didn’t want to be romantically involved with Mamoru, he just didn’t have those types of feelings. Even if he did, he didn’t want to change their relationship. He felt comfortable and safe around the elder, which meant more than any stupid Marking.

Mamoru was thankful for their friendship as well, or for Kozus acceptance of their friendship. The younger to-be Beta was more open with him without the pressure of a romantic relationship. Between sleepovers, baths, and the constant medical care, the two of them saw one another naked quite often. Being just friends meant that things weren’t made weird by sexual pressures. They could just focus on being friends.

Mamoru would be lying if he said he wanted to stay just friends. He had feelings for the younger male for a while. Kozu was just so cute, and when he wasn’t concerned with others perception of him he was fun and he laughed and he only shared that side of himself with the to-be Alpha. Kozu saw himself as plain and completely average, but to Mamoru he was anything but.

On multiple occasions he had probably overstepped Kozus boundaries. He would hold him tighter to his chest after he fell asleep, or rub his back to lull him out of a nightmare. One time he even offered to help him masturbate when his wrist was in pain. But he wouldn’t push any relationship on Kozu. The last thing he wanted was to make him feel like he was disappointing him, and resort to the same ‘im fine’ that he gives everyone else. He would be fine meeting Kozu wherever he let him, which right now was deep in the friendzone.

But given a sliver of a chance Mamoru would Mark his friend, and secure his ability to protect him. He almost dared Ryuu to try and harm Zuzu once he was HIS. Ranks aside, he would return every bit of pain back to the Alpha tenfold.

 

It was a nice dream while it lasted.

Kozu was struggling in class, clearly he had a fever and still chose to come to school. Idiot. Mamoru decided he would chastise him later, and until then he would watch over him. He was only 2 desks away from his, by the window. The window was open, providing a breeze that sent shivers up Mamorus spine. It wasn’t summer anymore, and it was getting cold! The air had a weird scent to it as well, but no one paid it any mind.

It crossed his mind that maybe he had an infection. He had had to patch up a gash on Kozus leg a few days ago, but he didn’t have a medical degree so maybe he did something wrong? He planned on investigating this at lunch. Its not like Kozu would tell him he was sick, the idiot would push through for a stupid reason.

But by the time the bell for lunch rang, the classroom would be empty, students would be crying in the hallway, and Mamoru would have found his way to the hospital instead.

It happened so fast.

Kozu had been getting worse the longer the lecture went on, eventually just laying his head on the table. The teacher hadn’t noticed yet, so Mamoru stood up, interrupting the lesson. While he hadn’t presented yet, he still was well known in the classroom as a to-be Alpha, so he drew the attention of the classroom immediately. “Sensei! Ikazuki is sick, can I take him to the nurse?” he asked, pointing over to the panting Kozu.

Everyone’s attention turned to Kozu, a muffled ‘im fine’ poking through the makeshift arm-pillow.

“You have a fever” Mamoru countered, walking over to him and crouching down to feel his forehead. His hand was swatted away before he could touch him.

That had been unexpected.

With a sigh the teacher allowed them to go to the nurse. Clearly Kozu wasn’t in any shape to be at school. He waved the two with permission and turned to return to the lesson. It was on complex fractions, and he could tell enough students were lost already.

Yuma-sensei was an Alpha, as a majority of teachers. It wasn’t necessarily a high-class job, but Alphas were needed as teachers, to be able to maintain order in the classroom. Betas and Omegas were allowed to be teachers when it came to smaller children who were in no danger of presenting yet or challenging authority.

Yuma Takeru had wanted to be a teacher for a while. He came from a half-home. His mother was Stolen, so she was Marked but the Mate was unknown. Stolen Omegas were the worst possible position in life you could be, so for a majority of his life Yuma lived in poverty. The stigma of being the child of a Stolen Omega clung to Yuma until he presented as an Alpha in his first year of middle school. His father must have been pretty high ranked because Yuma was ranked in the upper middle realm at the school he was transferred to. He was the preferred rank for teachers, so things worked out really well. Teachers were paid well enough, given their responsibility, and Yuma had happily taken in his mother, so she no longer had to live in poverty.

This was his first year at Nisihtaga Middle School, having been transferred from a position at Aoba Josai High School where the Statuses were separated by classes, to keep accidental markings to a minimum. Highschool aged students didn’t necessarily have the greatest control of their instincts, and there was always an Omega in the year that was the ‘favorite’ by their classmates. Packs were always present in schools, either stemming from groups like clubs, or formed around a charismatic Alpha. The school didn’t discourage Packs being created, but it added a new level to the teacher’s responsibilities to deal with Pack conflicts.

There were some prefectures that had different Statuses segregated to different school buildings, but Miyagi was not one of them. There were middle schools that were Alpha only, with high ranked Alphas as teachers. Many middle school students who presented as Alphas were required to attend the Alpha-only middle schools for safety reasons. Middle schools had even lower instinct control. By the end of the year around 50 students would be moved to an Alpha-only school. So far 7 had been transferred, 3 from Yuma’s own class. So far he had 3 Omegas and 9 Betas already. He had his eye on a few students he pegged for to-be Alphas, and Hyakuya Mamoru was one of them.

 

Just as Yuma-sensei returned to the lesson, a growl cut through the silence. It wasn’t very loud, but it was without a doubt, an Alphas growl. It sent shivers down his spine, which shouldn’t happen unless it was a higher ranked Alpha.

The classroom was silent, the Omega and Betas in the room keeping their heads down in submission, or fear. The remaining students looked back at the Kozu Mamoru pair. Who did that growl come from? Mamoru?

Mamoru wasn’t affected by the growl, like most of those who hadn’t presented yet either. He was twice as confused though. “Zuzu?”

Kozu was half standing up, half leaning on his desk. Mamoru had reached to slide his arm over his shoulder before the growl crawled into the world. He pushed Mamoru away from him and gripped the desk behind him until his knuckles were white.

This wasn’t normal behaviour for the male, and it was making Mamoru nervous. He reached for Kozu again. “Come on, lets get you to the nurse” he said. “Everyone’s going to worry about you until we leave” he whispered, trying to use Kozus insecurity to aid the situation. He felt scummy doing it but something wasn’t right and he wanted to get Kozu out of the classroom so he would tell him what was up.

Kozu let out a small growl again, ending with a hard cough

“Calm down Zuzu” he rubbed Kozus back, trying to soothe him. He wasn’t really responding, was this a night terror? A fevered day dream? This wasn’t normal! By now even the Betas and Omegas were watching the two of them, and Yuma-sensei had turned around.

The air felt thicker, and it was beginning to worry Yuma. “Let him be, ill call the nurse in here” he said and walked to the phone by the door. “Get away from him Hanasaki-kun” he said and waited for the nurse to pick up. If he was recognizing things right, then Ikazuki Kozu was presenting as an Alpha, and was experiencing the first bout of dominant instincts. It was dangerous for the other students. He shouldn’t even be at school right now.

The line clicked open. “Class 4-3, I need the nurse. A students presenting as an Alpha and isn’t-“

Screams filled the room as the two students tumbled to the ground, and low growl filled the room.

“Shit. Everyone out of the room!” Yuma-sensei shouted, opening the door and running to the back of the room. Kozu had Mamoru pinned under him, one hand pressed against his face, holding it to the side as he popped the buttons on his shirt to expose his neck.

“Kozu! Stop!” Mamoru pleaded underneath him, pushing his hands up to try and keep him from reaching him. “Zuzu! Stop it!” the boy was near tears, terrified.

“No!” Yuma shouted, reaching for the back of Kozus uniform before hearing the sound of skin being torn into. His hand touched fabric and he pulled, dislodging Kozu from the other student’s neck, but his grip faltered and he heard the second bite. Mamoru was silent afterwards.,

Another student had pried the two apart, but it was too late. Mamoru had two deep Marks on his neck. “FUCK!” the teacher screamed in frustration, and went to take care of the situation. He sent the student away to find the nurse. He had to deal with this new Alpha.

He never in a million years would have thought that Kozu Ikazuki would present as an Alpha. He had seen more dominant Omegas than this kid. He was docile, masochistic even. He was always injured, and never really offered an explanation. He just told everyone he was fine. Who did he have at home? Did he even have parents? Alphas don’t phase all at once, was he more aggressive at home?! If he was then you deal with that at home! You don’t send them to school! Exceptions are made for these situations!

When the class was clear and Kozu was at least coherent, Yuma had to figure out how to deal with this and make sure Hyakuya Mamoru was okay. He was nervous that he would attack again, but when he let Kozu see his friend, he didn’t seem to remember what had literally just happened. Yuma had been prepared to pin the boy down, but the second Mamoru was reintroduced the boy seemed to lose all Alpha instincts, well maybe not all. His mouth was spewing concern for the boy but his eyes were glued to the Mark, torn and bloody. Marks weren’t supposed to be bloody! Marks weren’t supposed to be on un-presented people!

Kozu stayed with Mamoru until the nurse arrived, stroking his hair and speaking to him. “You’ll be okay, the nurse will fix this, you’ll be okay. “Morun, open your eyes and say you’ll be alright” the little Alpha whispered, ignoring the teacher’s presence.

Was this really the same kid?!

Yuma jumped when Kozu growled, and stood up, glaring at the door. Seconds later the nurse appeared, and was thrown back a bit by the confrontation awaiting her. “move, im the nurse” she said and pushed Kozu aside, seemingly unphased now by his attempt at dominance. If she wasn’t so focussed on the bleeding student in front of her she may have found the time to patronize Kozu and call him cute. But she had bigger worries.

After a moment of inspection, resulting in the unconscious moans of pain from Mamoru, she sighed “This isn’t going to heal well” she muttered to herself. “He hadn’t presented yet had he” she asked Yuma and the teacher shook his head.

“Damnit” she clicked her tongue, and pushed Kozu away again. He kept moving closer to her and she needed space. She took a pack of gauze and covered the wound, wrapping it to keep pressure on it. It as still bleeding, not heavily, but enough to be a concern. Normal Marks weren’t this bloody, and they healed on their own. This one would not heal normally.

Kozu nearly lost it! “Don’t cover that!” he shouted at her, reaching for the bandages. Within a second he was on the ground, his face mashed into the tile. “Don’t touch my patient you arrogant little shit” she growled, “this is your fault, you just ruined a student’s life, im not going to let you scar them even worse.” She looked up at the teacher. “Get him out of here, and send in another student to help me carry him to my office” she said. Yuma nodded, and waited for her to release Kozu. He picked him off the ground and pulled him from the room, it was not an easy task.

“Im not leaving him! Let me go back to Mamoru!” he shouted, but the teacher grabbed his mouth, preventing him from opening it again. He grit his teeth and let out a deep inhale. “just shut the fuck up” he pushed him forwards. “you’re going home”

After waiting in the office lobby for 20 minutes, Kozu was called up by the secretary. He walked up, and lay his hands on the counter politely. “How’s Mamo- How’s Hyakuya-kun. Any news? Can I see him? Please?”

The secretary sighed and looked up at him. “Hyakuya Mamoru has been transferred to Miyagi Hospital. He will be absent for the foreseeable future” she said. “Your family is here to retrieve you”

Kozu ran a hand through his hair, half expecting to see black strands on his fingers after. He was so worried! Mamoru was in the hospital?! At least he would be able to convince his mom to take him there. She knew how important Mamoru was to him. Walking out of the office he walked to the front entrance, looking for his mom. But she wasn’t there. His stomach dropped when he heard the voice.

“Hey Lil bro, so you’re an Alpha now huh”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, Kozu wasnt always mean to Mamoru


	3. Shittykawa at it again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa freaks out, and tries to apologize to Iwa-chan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The secret life of IwaOi. Connected to Bitten
> 
> it is Alpha x Alpha.

Iwaizumi didn’t hear it at first, he felt it, he could smell it. It made him pause for a second, it made all the little hairs on his body stand up. The classmate in front of him, a beta, looked like he had been struck.

This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, especially in a physical setting like the club. Emotions ran high, individuals dealing with outside issues influencing their behaviour and mood. Club members lashed out.. not on a common basis but it was by no means rare. Especially when it came to the marital spats between Matsukawa and Hanamaki.

Alphas were separated from other statuses during classes to avoid such conflicts, but clubs were free reign. It was up to him an Oikawa to keep the peace and manage the younger students. Throw in a few Omegas and Betas, and sometimes things got tense, which was annoying and took time out of practice.

Feeling the occasional spike of emotion was to be expected, but they usually passed within a few moments, either by force or by natural choice.

It wasn’t hard to follow the arguments even when you weren’t in the gym. Who was angriest, who had the upper hand, who was afraid, all could be generally felt or smelled.

Iwaizumi wasn’t as adept at telling specific team members apart, aside from Oikawa. He knew when Oikawa became involved, that pompous, arrogant, vanilla scented bastard. Often joining the argument at the end to shut it down, as the captain’s position requires.

It would be nice to rationalize that he knew Oikawas scent to well because he was the smelliest of the bunch, but alas, unfortunately the two were a couple, much to Iwaizumis sarcastic delight. The two leading men of Aoba Josai were an alpha-alpha couple.

So having spent a significant amount of time wrapped in that vanilla scent, Iwaizumi could pick it up immediately. Which is why this argument made him leave his classmate mid-sentence and rush back into the gym.

“Oikawa!” he shouted and he pulled opened the door, and almost had to take a step back. The air was so thick, and there was almost no movement. Players were frozen, and turned towards the center, where Matsukawa was on his back, pinned down by Oikawa.

Iwaizumi looked for the third party, who has Matsu gone after for Oikawa to have to intervene so physically? He looked around for Hanamaki, the usual party, and found him against the wall.

This didn’t make sense, the anger emanating from the captain and the lack of a third party, who was Oikawa defending??

Rushing over to the two, Iwaizumi pried them apart, unphased by the massive scent Oikawa put out.

The second his hand touched his shoulder, Oikawas growl was directed at him, the anger on his face, the scrunched brow, the teeth bared, honestly, it sent a shiver of fear down his spine.

He let go and stepped back for a second, just enough for the growl to be strangled in Oikawas throat and his features to soften.

“Iwa” the captain looked down at Matsukawa, who was looking up at Oikawas mate with a smirk.  The captain  let out a low growl and took a step forwards, the aggressive heat swelling in his chest. After what Matsu did, he had the nerve to look at Iwa!

The sound of Iwaizumis hand against Oikawas cheek echoed throughout the gym, drawing more silence than the Captains outburst.

“you should probably leave practice early” The vice captain said calmly. “I can handle the practice tonight”

Oikawa turned to the Ace, his own hand pressed against his red cheek “Iwa, its not like that-“

“Oikawa, go home” Iwaizumis voice carried a bit of push.

“Iwa-“

“I SAID, go home” Iwaizumi grit his teeth, not wanting to add to the suffocating air already filling the gym.

Shoulders slumped, Oikawa turned and glared at Matsukawa. “fine, I guess ill tell you what actually happened later” the captain frowned and headed towards the door. Its not like he didn’t understand why he would be sent home. That’s what they did to Matsukawa a lot when he couldn’t handle himself and lashed out, and from that scene it would be easy to assume.. but Iwaizumi didn’t have the story. He didn’t want to listen..

Turning to Matsukawa, Iwa raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t ask any questions. He was pissed at Oikawa, for freaking out like that. He was the captain, he was supposed to keep his composure, even if a player provoked him. He was supposed to be in more control of himself than the others.

“Let’s start practice!” Iwaizumi said loudly. “Open up the doors, get some air flow in here. It reeks” he kept control of the team. He needed to get this started, and get people moving again. They had a practice match soon and they needed to get in top form. He had been hoping to work on their receives, but now with Oikawa gone, it was just going to be harder.

“Alright everyone line up!”

~

The walk home was tiresome but quiet. Oikawa would often keep talking about the team and possible plays and what he wants to eat for dinner, but tonight Iwaizumi was walking home alone. This gave him plenty of time to think.

A few teammates had tried to tell him what had happened, but Iwaizumi wasn’t going to listen. He didn’t want to listen. He didn’t want to get wrapped up in the gossip and he would rather hear Oikawas explanation first. That way he could scold him and make him apologize the next day. He didn’t want to go in with a story or conclusion already. He didn’t think Oikawa would try and skew the story to put him in a positive light anyways.

The two had been dating for almost 3 years now, since the start of highschool. They had been friends forever, but the romantic feelings developed as their bodies did. As usual, Oikawa developed faster, and started to inadvertently woo his best friend. During a sleepover in first year, the alpha Oikawa kissed the unpresented Iwaizumi.

It would be a week later that Iwaizumi would also present as an Alpha.

The parents on both sides had been opposed to the relationship at that point, but that only annoyed Iwa, rather than discourage him. Being opposed to two alphas dating was ridiculous, its not as if Marks would be involved anytime soon, even if Oikawa wanted them to be.

At the beginning of third year the two officially moved in with one another, out of their parent’s place. It had been an adjustment, but not an unwelcome one. Oikawa was surprisingly easy to live with when he was given the right amount of motivation.

Opening the door, Iwaizumi flicked on the lights to find his boyfriend sitting on the floor in front of the door.

“Tooru?” Iwaizumi asked, confused. He was still in his uniform, his bag was still by the door.. had he been sitting here the whole time?

The dinner on the table told him that no, Oikawa had not been by the front door the entire time.

“Iwa!” the alpha stood up and lunged in for a hug, knocking the two of them into the door. “Iwa” he whispered, hugging him tightly, leaning all of his weight onto the other.

“oooi!” Iwa struggled for breath and eventually shoved the other off of him. “let me get my shoes off!” he huffed and slipped his shoes off, slipping around Oikawa to get changed and toss his uniform in the laundry.

“I made dinner though!” Oikawa called up the stairs, and was greeted with pajamas being tossed down the stairs.

“get changed, im doing a load of laundry first”

He had plenty of time to think during his walk home, and Iwa decided he would listen to Oikawa, that he trusted what the other would say. Tooru Oikawa was impulsive and arrogant and manipulative and he took joy in being a smug bastard, but he didn’t have a temper or a violent streak.

Stripping down, Iwa put on simple pajama pants and a tank top. It was probably Oikawas tank top, or Oikawa had worn it last, because it smelled a bit like him. It put a small smile on Iwaizumis face. As much as Shittykawa down there annoyed him on a daily basis, he couldn’t help but sometimes, only sometimes, like it. it all came from  genuine place, which only annoyed Iwaizumi more. It would be easier to give him shit if he was being annoying for annoying’s sake.

Giving the shirt one more small sniff, he headed downstairs, finding Oikawa in the laundry room, setting up the machine.

“So you do know how to work the machine” he teased. “And here you said you grew up using a washboard”

“I googled it” Oikawa said. “YouTube has some fascinating things” he took the clothes from Iwa and put them in, adding the soap and pressing start. “I made dinner”

“You said that already” Iwa said, looking at Oikawa, who seemed hesitant as to how to act. A nervous Oikawa, that was new.

“So” the vice captain said, and leaned over to kiss Oikawas cheek. “Let’s go eat”

Softly touching his cheek, Oikawa bounded over to the table with renewed energy, pulling he chair out for Iwa and sitting next to him. On the table was omelette rice, with ketchup!

“oh yea, we need more eggs, whichever one of us is going to the store next” Oikawa said, smiling over at his boyfriend.

“I bought eggs yesterday” Iwa said, and looked down at the plates, sighing a little.

“They had to be perfect..” Oikawas voice was small. The compost bi was filled with burned omlets that would remain hidden until Iwa had gone to bed.

With another sigh, Iwa reached over for his boyfriend and planted a kiss on his lips. “You drive me up the wall”

“Can I pin you to one?” Oikawa mumbled, which Iwa pretended to not hear as he cut into he food. It was surprisingly tasty. There weren’t too many burn marks, and it wasn’t too salty.

“this isn’t horrible” Iwa said, giving the highest of praises. “I mean I can still tell you made it”

“Iwa-chan you’re awful. I poured my heart, my soul into those eggs!” he said dramatically. “I wanted to apologize. I.. I let myself get riled up, and I growled at you and I never wanted to do that, I was just.. I.. I did not punch him” he pointed out. “I never physically touched him.. I mean I grabbed his jersey.. but I restrained myself!”

Iwa gave a sarcastic round of applause.

“So why did you get riled up?”

“he..” Oikawa looked uncomfortable. “he said stuff, that I wasn’t okay with. No one would be okay with. He was SO out of bounds. I was going to send him home suspend  him from the team.. I was so mad at him!”

“What did he say Tooru” Iwa touched Oikawas hand, trying to calm him down. He was getting worked up again.

“he said stuff about you. About us. He said..” he frowned. “he said you were better off born an omega..” he gulped. “And these are his words! Not mine. Id never say these things” Oikawa stood up, and pushed his hand into his hair. He didn’t even want to repeat it. he felt awful, and angry, just thinking about it.

“Is that all?” Iwa asked. “he said I would be better off as an omega, so you attacked him?”

Oikawa turned to him and shook his head. “I don’t want to say the rest. Its mean” he sat back down. “Eat, please. You’re hungry” he said, knowing Iwas schedule. “Its no Cup Noodles, but I tried” he smiled, putting his hand on top of Iwas hand.

~

Anger still surged around inside Oikawa, and he wasn’t able to sleep that night. He kept tossing and turning, kicking the blankets off and pulling them back on. It was beginning to drive Iwaizumi crazy.

“Tooru..” the vice captain mumbled. “come here.” He pulled him to his chest and wrapped his arms around his chest. “sleep. Today doesn’t matter. What matters is you getting enough sleep to be okay tomorrow” he pressed his lips to his shoulder.

He could feel Oikawa shift a bit more and roll over to face him.

“You’re not mad at me still are you?”

“Tooru are you an omega or something?” Iwa groaned. “Cause you’re awfully insecure right now”

Oikawa puffed his cheeks out. “You were mad. Probably at me, definitely at me. And not the couple-mad where you’re pretending to teach me a lesson or something. You were like mad for real”

“how else was I supposed to get your attention quick enough” Iwa mumbled. “Im not mad. You had your reason, clearly it affected you. You’re not apologetic, and that’s okay. Matsukawas a trouble maker and you’re the captain. I wish you’d use your words before your voice though” he said. “The growl really affected Hanamaki”

“Ill apologize to him tomorrow” Oikawa said, wrapping his arm around Iwas waist. “im apologizing to you too. For making you stay and do everything by yourself. I lost my cool. Thank god there weren’t any girls there-OW!” he whined when he was pinched.

“screw the girls” Iwa mumbled. “But don’t.. actually screw the girls”

“I only screw you. Metaphorically and legitimately” Oikawa purred.

“good” Iwa said. “Now sleep.” He rubbed Oikawas back. “the next time a teammate is an idiot, ask yourself ‘what would Iwa-chan do” Iwa said. “most of the time the answer would be ‘leave it be”  he sighed.

Oikawa chuckled before it teetered off, and he was quiet for a moment.

“do you wish you had been born an omega? Or at least one of us had been?” he asked. “I mean then we could be a real couple, and have a family and-“

“Nope” Iwa interrupted. “nope to all of that.”

“you don’t want a family?”

“Not right this second. I want to finish school and start our life.” he said. “and for your information, we are a real couple.”

“But we don’t have a Mark.”

“Good. Marks complicate things.”

“but-“

“But nothing. If I was an omega, all those times you forgot to buy condoms would result in pregnancy. If I was an omega I wouldn’t be vice captain. If I was an omega, we would be forced to live with one of our parents, because as young males we can’t keep out hands off of one another and make poor life choices” Iwa exhaled. “and heats would just be embarrassing and time consuming, who has time for that” He opened his eyes and looked at Oikawa. “and we are a real couple. I REALly like you, and you REALly like me”

Staring up at him in shock, Oikawa felt a wave of relief pass through his body and he let out a small smile.

“I love you Iwa”

“I know,” he paused. He was going to say something sarcastic, but the puppy dog at his side was too cute. “I love you too Tooru” he leaned down and kissed him, but was surprised to find his partner wasn’t so willing to let the kiss end.

He felt Oikawas hands move down his back, and under his shirt, feeling the warm skin underneath.

Iwa tried to protest, but Oikawa wouldn’t let go of his lips, prying them open with his tongue. He could tell where the other wanted to take this. With the reassurance that things were okay, the captain grew in boldness.

He tried pushing oikawa off, his hands gripping the arms that were moving even further down his body, but they were secured to his body. The attempt drew attention from the boy and he pulled back a bit, and started to kiss along Iwas jawline, en route to the sensitive underside.

“Oikawa- wait, wait!” Iwa said, putting his hands on his shoulder. “just wait for a second would ya” he relaxed on the pillow when oikawa stopped his advance. “its late, im tired” he said. “can’t we just cuddle and sleep?” he asked.

Oikawa smirked down at his lover and kissed him chastely. “iwa-chaaan~ are you being responsible?” he smiled, and moved to straddle Iwas hips. “Roll over and ill give you a massage” he said. “you can even fall asleep during the massage if you want” he said and smiled. “I just wanna make you feel good”

That was one of Oikawas good points. He was a good massager. He would end up getting fired from a real massage parlor for inappropriate touching, but at home at least the deft little setter’s fingers worked magic on Iwas back as it did on the court.

Sometimes the massages didn’t end as massages, which was probably Oikawas goal the entire time, but Iwa was really tired and would definitely fall asleep before oikawa could instigate anything more sexual. It was a common occurrence that the massage went internal.

With a groan Iwa rolled over onto his belly, sliding his hands under the pillow and turning his head to the side. He looked back at Oikawa for a moment, just enough to catch the setter licking his lips. “Just a massage” Iwa mumbled, already on the way to slumberland. “anything more and ill calling the police to report sexual harassment.”

Oikawa jolted and he scowled at his partner. “Ruuude”. Nonetheless he slid Iwas tank top up to his shoulders, revealing the entirety of the others back.

Reaching down, Oikawa ran his fingers over the pale, smooth skin. A trail of goosebumps followed his fingers and he felt a shiver run through the muscles. Oikawa smirked and ran his finger down the indent on Iwas spine, and followed it all the way down to the hem of his pants. A small growl emerged from the near slumber alpha. “oi, I said-“

“I know I know” Oikawa hummed. “im just admiring your body” he pressed his palm to the skin and felt the muscles contract as Iwa shifted. “feel free to moan when it feels good.”

“ill feel free not to” Iwa groaned and shifted one more time before settling.

The room was filled eventually with the small moans as fingers worked magic, dipping and stroking the flesh underneath and they dug in deeper. The breathy moans of Iwa pressed into the pillow as he gripped the sheets underneath him, unable to sleep through the ordeal.

“oh Iwa-chan~” oikawa purred as he watched the blush ride up the back of his partners neck and onto his face. “I thought you had fallen asleep”

Oikawa hadn’t broken he rules. He didn’t do anything sexual. He just gave a really good back massage. “this is partly your fault as well you know” the setter smirked. “you don’t let me do this often enough, and you let yourself get so stressed all the time” he leaned down and kissed the base of his neck. “or maybe you wanted this?”

“I wanted sleep!” Iwa whimpered, his face red and his body obviously affected. Things could never be simple, even if Oikawa was. A Massage, then sleep. It was supposed to just be a simple massage!

He should have known. The smooth talking setter always had sex on the brain, and his ungodly ability to pick up on peoples ticks only made his well timed attacks all the more effective.

The fact that he knew where he was tense made it all the more difficult for Iwaizumi to keep quiet. He could feel the spots loosening under Oikawas touch, and it was extremely aggravating.

“Let me know if you want a Patch” the setter purred, leaning down to dot the heated body.

Iwaizumi gasped the cool lips sent a shock through his body, pushing out another growl. “no, stop, let me sleep” he reached a hand behind him to push the other off of him.

Oikawa moved down, straddling his partners thighs, out of his arm reach. The shift in positioning and pressure caused the male under him to gasp again, making Oikawas chest purr. The male fighting off his urges, and kind of failing, was both cute and hot. Breaking down Iwaizumis resovle was one of Oikawas favorite things to do, and even suspected the Ace loved it when Oikawa teased him like this.

He could hear the short, quick breaths his partner was giving him, and he licked his lips. “are you okay Iwa?” he cooed, leaning forwards, pressing himself to the soft flesh of Iwas ass.

“Fuck- off” he grit his teeth, sharply inhaling at the feeling. He was breaking down, giving in more and more. Oikawa could feel it. he ran his hand up Iwaizumis side, his fingers dipping down, feeling his chest, the skin even hotter in his hands.

“Iwa~” he purred, leaning down and kissing at the base of his neck. “alright, I guess ill let you sleep now” he whispered, his hot breath in Iwaizumis ear.

And within seconds, all contact was severed. Oikawa was under the covers next to Iwa, his hands, his fingers, his breath all to himself over there, leaving the places he had touched burning.  He lay on his stomach, panting. This was what he wanted, he wanted peace, he wanted sleep.

Then why was Oikawa smirking like a toddler on his side of the bed.

Iwaizumi closed his eyes, shifting in bed and crawling under the covers, fully relaxed and ready to sleep. He took a few deep breaths to try and calm the situation Oikawa incited.

5 minutes later, he still lay there, unable to sleep. His skin was still hot. He could feel the bastard’s hands on him still, touching him in places.

“Iwa~” Oikawas voice whispered over from his side of the bed. “Are you asleep~”

Iwaizumi didn’t answer at first. He was pissed. He was tired, and he had to be up early, and now a part of him was up extra early!

“I guess Iwas asleep” Oikawa pouted, pulling the blanket more onto his side, which only aggravated the alpha even more. He takes his sleep and then he takes his blanket!

“I think the fuck not” he growled, sitting up and crawling onto Oikawas back before the setter could react. Pinning his head down, Iwaizumi reached down and pulled the blanket off of him completely, tossing it onto the ground.

“Iwa!” the setter sounded too cheery for someone being assaulted. It was like he as happy about the-

“Shittykawa!” Iwa growled, reaching down to strip the idiot of his pants. The setter struggled under his hand to roll over, but he wasn’t going to be allowed to have his way!

“Iwa! I want to see you” he outed. “why can’t I see you!”

“you did this on purpose!” Iwaizumi growled. “If you want sex so bad, ill give it to you” he threw the pants on the ground and reached into the drawer on the bedside table. “If im not getting any sleep, neither are you”

Oikawa purred but granted as his head as pushed down into the bed more.

The bottle clicked up and Oikawa gasped as the cold liquid touched his skin. “Flip me over Iwa-chan~” he said. “you can watch my face as you take me” he purred, but Iwaizumi kept his partner face down.

“you seem to be misunderstanding things” he whispered, moving his body so he was behind Oikawa, lifting his hips slightly. “You left me like that, so im not going to help you at all” he whispered cruelly into Oikawas ear, his own hot breath tickling the setters skin.

Before he could protest, the slicked-up Iwaizumi was already buried to the hilt, throwing Oikawas breathing off and strangling a gasp in his throat.

Letting go of his head, Iwaizumi gripped his hips, holding him in place as he pushed into him, pulling out and reburying himself over and over/ Oikawas body jilted, each thrust simultaneously sending shocks and waves though his body. he dripped onto the bed, but each time he reached to stroke himself, his hand was snatched by his alpha.

“You’re not touching yourself” The alphas growl stunned the submissive alpha. It was a short few minutes, with Iwaizumis light growl running shivers up Oikawas spine as he pleaded to be allowed to touch himself. He was denied, time and time again.

The smirk on Oikawas face turned to bright surprise as he felt the final thrust, moving him up against the sheets. Iwa let out a final groan, leaning forwards, catching a piece of Oikawas shoulderblade between his teeth. Without biting, Iwa breathed heavily against the alphas back, the heat from both of their bodies turning his face red again.

Oikawa slid flat against the bed and groaned, his pleading member neglected. The pressure against the bed did feel nice though, especially with Iwa still buried inside him, and his body weight on top of him.

Sapped of his energy, Iwaizumi could barely move, and almost passed out on top of his partner, had it not been for the bottom squeezing down on the most sensitive part of him.

“Im still hungry Iwa” Oikawa pouted, lifting himself off the bed and rolling the tired one off of him and onto his side of the bed, dislodging him from his body.

“Iwaaaaaaa” Oikawa sighed, leaning on his partners chest, pouting. How could he sleep when here he was, naked just for him! Or well.. stripped by him.. in annoyance. How could he sleep when he was in the presence of such sex appeal!

“Iwa, wake up or ill do o you what you just did to me” he purred, his hand trailing down the naked chest, but the sleeping boy didn’t stir.

“Im serious Iwa~” his hand travelled lower, brushing the top of his thighs. There was no reaction.

“that’s not fair Iwa! You got to cum, you left me here, all alone” he looked down at himself, his body accurately displaying his mood: disappointed.

Sulking, the setter looked over at iwaizumi, the sleeping brunette limp on the bed where he landed. There wasn’t even a smug look of satisfaction on his lips.

“Ugh” Oikawa pulled the blanket back up and slid his underwear back on, leaving the other exposed. Its not like the other deserved it, but oikawa pulled himself close and snuggled the alpha, kissing his cheek and closing his eyes. He would make sure to get his revenge in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a Patch is a puncture-proof item that can be applied to the neck area. Its kind of like a Mark condom. It feels like skin, it sticks flush to the skin, and the top layer punctures like skin, but the bottom layer prevents any Mark from actually reaching the skin. 
> 
> So if an alpha wants to bite their mate but not Mark them, the Patch is there. another chapter goes into it more, but its mentioned in here so i figured id explain it a bit.


	4. Kozus Alpha Presentation Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Ryuu, Kozus living nightmare.

Kozu leaned against the back of the passenger side seat, the leather cold to the touch. He wasn’t used to sitting in the front seat, and normally delegated himself to the backseat to avoid situations like this. But today he felt like he would sit up front.

Regret filled him as he sat next to his older half-brother, who flicked off the radio every time Kozu tried to play something. The silence was infuriating!

“If you’re not going to talk, then put the music on!” he snapped, feeling a burst of anger swell in his chest before collapsing in on itself. He clicked on the radio, but it was clicked off again. Kozu clicked his tongue and looked over at the smug brunette.

Ryuunosuke was a confident man, top of his class, popular with his classmates. His defining feature was his piercing green eyes, as if he didn’t stand out in a crowd as it was. At 17 years old, already driving, having a harem of girls, heir to a company, this guy had it going on. But those who loved him had no idea how mean he could be. The cool, calm, collected male next to him had a switch that flipped at a hairs breath. They didn’t understand that who they loved was the devil himself.

What they saw was the tall, strong Alpha, with his hair slicked back and his smile pristine. Kozu had been privy to a few of the girls who had fallen for his charms. Apparently doing it in someone elses bed was a ‘turn on’ for his brother. Or that’s at least what he told the girls. But Kozu knew he loved making a mess and leaving it for Kozu to try and explain to his mom.

He had tried to tell the truth one time, and he woke up to his hair superglued to his pillow. He looked like a gang member for a few weeks while his hair grew in.

The silence was driving Kozu insane, leaving him alone with his thoughts. He wanted to go see Mamoru, but like hell he was having Ryuu take him. The older male would have a field day, and Kozu wasn’t going to give Ryuu the satisfaction of picking on Mamoru. It wasn’t his fault this happened, and he wouldn’t subject him to having Ryuu pick on him; the alpha who got Marked by someone like.. _Kozu_.

Ryuu didn’t speak, he did smirk though as he watched the feelings on his little brothers face. The anger, the fear, the struggle between his genetic instincts to fight and his learned instincts of flight creating a delicious expression. He couldn’t help but praise himself for being responsible for this delectable confusion of feelings.

He knew that Kozu wouldn’t be happy to see him as his retriever, but who better to watch over his little brother than him. Who else would be able to keep little Kozu in line, to make sure he behaved until his mood stabilized.  Who else would Kozu be afraid of, if not him.

When he was called out of class and learned about his brothers new status he laughed. He didn’t believe them for a second. An Alpha? Kozu? He needed to see it to believe it. He happily left school to checkout the little monstrosity. He had been partially filled in, he was told that his brother started presenting in class, and that a student was injured. They asked him about his home life and whether there had been someone to notice the upcoming changes. He answered honestly, that Kozu had been as docile as a bunny rabbit. But then again, its not like he would have tolerated anything different.

He was always quick to punish any rebellions streaks in his little bro. He wasn’t allowed to fight back. Or he would find out just how much it hurt to open his mouth.

He couldn’t attest to how Kozu was around his mother, but he wouldn’t put it past her to be fucking useless. The woman couldn’t fight her way out of a wet paper bag. Half the time she spent in font of the tv, the other half she was doting on their father. She didn’t even need to. Nothing was stopping her from being independent. His father hated her. He only kept her around because of Kozu. Both of them had been a thorn in Ryuus and his fathers side for too long. Especially Kozu. Small, weak, a beta. Ugh.

Well, apparently not.

Looking over at his little brother he poked his cheek, watching him flinch. “ooh someone’s touchy” he teased. “Angry?” Ryuu purred, his lips curling up. “I hope you brought your gym clothes” he raised an eyebrow.

Kozu was confused. What did gym class have to do with this? He demanded an answer, but Ryuu didn’t respond, he didn’t even acknowledge him. He just kept driving. The trees and the buildings flashing past the windows. It was a quick drive home, but this was not the way!

“Where are we going?” Kozu asked, half scared. This was the same older brother who would beat him for no good reason. This was the same brother who had dragged him to an alley and stomped on him because he embarrassed him. This was the same brother who had put a razor blade in his mouth and slapped him because he embarrassed him.

He didn’t want to know where Ryuu would take him if he was mad about being pulled out of school. The creative Alpha had done some cruel things, sometime just for the sake of being mean.

The buildings began to look more and more decrepit, and after seeing two scantily clad women Kozu’s mind filled with possible ideas. Was Ryuu going to get him laid?! No, that was too.. nice? Would Ryuu think it would be nice?

Cause Kozu didn’t feel too thrilled about it. He didn’t feel comfortable looking at naked people, sex was just.. gross to him. He wasn’t particularly inexperienced though. Ryuu had show him some pretty graphic porn last year, which ended up making Kozu vomit. He didn’t really feel okay after that one. It was the last time he tried speaking to one of Ryuus girlfriends. It wasn’t even his fault! She came up to him, she started talking to him! He didn’t ask for her help, she just started touching him and asking about the bandages!

The other option was Ryuu was going to have him raped. It was in the porn collection, Omegas, the multiple guys over the one Omega, the fluids..

Kozu covered his mouth just thinking about it. He let out a small burp, making a face at the smell. He felt sick.

The knot in his stomach only grew as the car pulled over in front of a group of half naked men. Ryuu had done some cruel things to him, but he never involved other people. Kozu felt his breath increase and he undid his seatbelt, crawling into the back as he watched Ryuu get out and speak to the men, laughing, handing over some money and pointing somewhere. Someplace to meet? Directions to the den of rape?!Kozu felt like he was going to vomit, he had never been so scared.

When the back door of the car opened Kozu let out a squeak. His head was down and he couldn’t see who it was, but the hand on his hair told him it was Ryuu. He peeked a look, the men weren’t with him.

“Come on, lets go” the smile on Ryuus face looking anything but friendly.

Kozu crawled out of the car, keeping his hands by his sides. He walked a bit slow, not wanting to actually be here, as they walked through what looked to be an abandoned building. There were people laying on the ground, pantsless,. Pants seemed to be a foreign object here as no one had any. He saw 2 groups of people and 4 pairs of people. He so did not want to be here. The smell was rancid! He smelled semen, blood, sweat, all mixed with the overwhelming scent of Omegas in heat.

He stopped to look at one boy on the ground, he looked close to Kozus own age, and looked up at him with such a pathetic look, Kozu reached out with his foot and rolled him over. The boy was awake and groaned, or moaned. It sounded like pain and pleasure rolled into one, and it grossed Kozu out. This place was disgusting.

The fear was forgotten, after seeing all of these pathetic sex driven people, Kozu knew he could outrun or out fight any of these people. They were moaning, panting, driven only by what was between their legs. It was… just pathetic.

He made his way to the other end of the building and found Ryuu. “You hang out here?” he asked in disbelief, sneaking in a little scoff.

Ryuu seemed to find that entertaining and ruffled Kozus hair. “shut up” he laughed a little and pushed open the door. Behind the door was the complete opposite from the sex den before it. Inside was a professional looking gym, complete with, again, scantily clad men, but they were sweating over dumbbells and weights, not bimbos and omegas. The smell wasn’t much better. It reeked of desperation and Alpha, but which wasn’t really better than semen and omega, but it presented a less vivid image in Kozus mind.

In the middle of the room was a martial arts ring, with two people already sparring.

Ryuu nudged Kozu and motioned to the ring. “Did you bring your gym clothes?”

Kozu shook his head. “I didn’t have gym today. They’re in my locker” he said. “Ill just borrow a spare some someone here” he looked around. Iike anyone’s clothes here would fit him. He was the smallest thing to ever set foot in this building, including the rats.

“Well,” Ryuu chuckled. “Ill try not to pull your underwear off mid-punch” he said and pointed to the lockers over on the far wall. “Go set your bag down, strip and meet me at the ring. Ill get you some gloves” he walked off, speaking to a few more of the men working out. He clearly was comfortable here. It just weirded Kozu out.

Why were they here? Why was Ryuu suddenly being so brotherly? Cause he was an alpha too now? Cause he was now the same rank?

Kozu smirked as he had idea popped into his mind. “He’s worried about dad” he said and laughed to himself. “Bastard son, versus legitimate son” he slid his uniform shirt off, folding it and laying it into his bag. “He’s afraid of me”

The idea was so absurd Kozu couldn’t help but laugh out loud, having to lean on the lockers. Ryuunosuke, big bad alpha, afraid of him, the tiny, scrawny, Kozu. An idea so ridiculous had never occurred to the younger Alpha. It had to be impossible.

A voice in Kozus mind told him he was right, and he had to be cocky about it. Now was his time for revenge. Now he could finally get back at Ryuu for all the times he picked on him! He would scare him just as bad as he had been scared, he would take away everything he wanted, everything he worked for! He would teach that bastard exactly what he had coming for him,.

Absolute confidence filled the small body as it walked over to the ring, in only boxers. He wet his hands and pushed his hair back, and looked up at his brother. “Are we doing this or what?”

Ryuu turned from his conversation and took one look at the little Alpha before bursting into laughter, tears springing from his eyes. He saw his little brother, scowl on his face, skinny as all hell, and his hair slicked back like he was trying to be cool! He was dying with laughter, struggling for breath at one point.

For a good 2 minutes Ryuu was dying, each time he managed to compose himself he looked back at his little brother and lost it all over again. It was just pissing Kozu off at this point.

The younger brother huffed, he wanted to be taken seriously! He was here because of Ryuu, and now Ryuu was making a big joke out of this!

“Are we doing this or what!” he shouted.

The shout seemed to jolt Ryuu out of his hysterics and back into the cold stare Kozu was used to. There were enough Alphas flexing in the space that an individuals Alphas scent was washed out, but Kozu could feel the edges of Ryuus.

“You wanna start huh” Ryuu said and stripped his shirt off, and tugged his pants off. He at least had on gym clothes underneath. He wasn’t nearly naked like Kozu was. He took a step towards Kozu, watching him take a step back, like a good submissive. “Get in the dam ring then” he pushed him a bit, watching him stumble.  All of the laughter was rained form his face, and he was the Ryuu Kozu was used to.

 

Gloves were waiting for Kozu, and so was a small pool of blood on the ground., probably left over from the last guy. Kozu slid his hands into the gloves and grimaced. They felt sweaty. He had help lacing them up and let his arms hang down. They were heavy, and Kozu wasn’t even strong to begin with.

“The rule is, whoever calls uncle, loses. Feel free to run, scream, jump, whatever your little Alpha head wants” he smirked. “But im not going easy on you. And I have a date later today” he smirked.

“Don’t worry, ill leave your face out of it” Kozu growled, trying to work himself up. Ryuu was here, offering himself as a punching dummy, and Kozus knees were shaking. If he punched him too hard would he let the vagrants from the other side of the door in? Ryuu may be acting like a brother right now, but he was still a sadistic bastard.

A makeshift bell rang and Ryuu let his arms drop and stand up, watching Kozu. Kozu was defensive, his knees crouched. He was sure Ryuu would come at him first.

Kozu stared at his brother for a second, and felt someone push him from outside the ring. There was a crowd, a majority of those inside the gym were now watching them. And they were all on his side of the ring. He smirked and stood up straight. “Running away?” he taunted his brother, a cocky grin overtaking his face.

Ryuu walked to the center of the ring, and smirked. “Ooh, my lil bros shittalking me now is he?” he leaned down to whisper in his ear, driving his gloved fist into the soft belly in front of him.

Kozu felt the wind being driven from his lungs, and he saw spots. He had not been expecting that, and fell to his knees, coughing. The leather glove hit his skin and left a big red mark already. Kozu had to run to the side and grab the bucket, letting go of the vomit that had finally crawled up his throat.

He groaned and stood up, turning to Ryuu and running at him, swinging his fist. The weight carried it, and landed with much less impact than suggested on Ryuus chest.

“ooh, ahh, the pain” Ryuu taunted him, faking pain. Before driving his fist into Kozus side. “Come on!” he shouted, his eyes widening. Now he was having fun! “Come on lil bro, show me what your harboring deep inside” he mocked. “Show me just how much of a big, bad, dominant alpha you really are! “He batted his chest, his arm span longer than Kazus. He swatted away Kazus attempts at a punch so easily, laughing each time. “Oh it that it?” he asked, knocking Kozu back onto his back. He untied the gloved on his hand and slid them off, and grabbed Kozus, pulling them off and tossing them to the side. “if you can’t even lift the gloves take them off, stupid” he growled and pulled him to his feet. “Now, actually try now” he growled.

Kozu swayed as he stood up. He flexed his fingers, he was so sore already, he didn’t want to do this anymore.

“Let’s GO!” Ryuu shouted, holding his arms open wide. “Free shot, give it a go, unless you’re scared, little chicken shit. You should have just stayed a beta! You’re a sorry excuse for even an Omega!” he shouted,

Kozu felt his blood boil and ran at Ryuu, grabbed his shirt and pushing him back. “SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP!” he screamed, driving his fists into Ryuus chest as hard as he could, losing all focus on everything except the white-hot feeling inside him, and the pounding of his fits. “SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU BASTARD ALPHA!!!” he kept shouting, to the point where he didn’t know what else to do. Obviously his physical body wasn’t enough to hurt Ryuu. He was so weak. He was a weak Alpha, he had nothing, he wasn’t worth this status.

He pounded his arms until they started to burn, and his punches lost their power, his voice lost its volume, and he stood there heaving and seething with anger. He waited for the slap, the punishment, the inevitable flash of pain that would flash through his body, but nothing came for a minute, two minutes, three minutes. He opened his eyes and looked up at Ryuu.

The Alpha seemed to be amused still. “Bastard Alpha huh” he said and took a step closer, his and sliding to cup Kozus neck,. “Damn right” he kicked his feet out and pushed Kozu to the ground, and held him to the floor of the ring, bending his neck to reveal the soft pale skin.

He leaned down, trailing his tongue over the skin and letting his teeth graze the flesh.

“Maybe, just for that, ill make you mine, you were never going to be a good Alpha anyways,” he taunted. “look at you, you’re such a weak little baby, crying all the god damn time about how it hurts, how you’re sorry. When you’re not” he squeezed down on Kozus neck, ignoring the kicking feet and clawed fingers prying at his hand. “Id feel bad for anyone forced to be your mate, no one deserves you” he released his neck, but grabbed his chin so he would look up at him. “you’re not worth your weight in toilet paper” he said. “even father knew you would be useless as an heir”

Kozu coughed, his face returning to its regular color. “Then why are you so worried” he coughed again, looking up at him. “im not a beta! Im an alpha, im his son, I could be the heir if I wanted to be!” he coughed a final time, and tried sitting up. A hand on his throat again held him down.

“Like hell you’ll be the heir. You couldn’t run a company if you were strapped to a treadmill” he growled. “you and your pathetic excuse for a status”

Kozu kicked his legs out, trying to free himself, but he was completely overpowered. He was terrified, he never through Ryuu would try and kill him! He couldn’t even cry out for help.

Slowly he started to feel light headed, and his vision closed in around him. He felt his feet go cold, and he lost feeling in his fingers, before everything went dark.


	5. Learning to be an Alpha

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home from the hospital, Mamoru has a nightmare, but the Alpha who Marked him is nowhere to be found. Or is he?

The first time Mamoru had the nightmare, it felt like the world was collapsing. The overwhelming feeling of loneliness and abandonment shook him awake, throwing him into the silent darkness.

Sitting up and grabbing his neck, Mamoru felt the wet, healing flesh pulse under his fingers, his heart pumping harder than it had ever had.

Struggling to stand, he felt his way along the edge of the bed, his feet never leaving the floor and he inched his way to freedom.

Mamorus chest heaved under his light pajama top, gripped tightly in one hand. He needed… he needed light. He needed air. He needed Kozu. He felt the crushing darkness around him, which only meant Kozu wasn’t here.

His fingers hit a wall and his fingernails scraped the surface looking for a place to hold onto, to keep himself secure, to find his way through the darkness.

Sliding down the wall he weakly called out the name he needed, the words barely passing his lips with any strength. His breathing was shaky under the pressure of the darkness, the loneliness. Kozu wasn’t coming.

Kozu wouldn’t come.

He came once, but he left. He didn’t come back, he walked away. Kozu left him in the darkness, knowing he needed him! Why did he walk away!

After what felt like an eternity, Mamoru slowly stood up, feeling his way across the wall, looking for any way of getting out. He needed to breathe!

He reached out, and jolted when he felt the something in the dark attack him, forcing his arm back to his chest, searing pain firing up into his fingertips. He gasped in pain, clutching it to his chest as he called for Kozu again, knowing he couldn’t expect a response. The pain sent sparks of dizziness through mamoru and he collapsed onto his knees again.

Everything hurt, everything was scary. He couldn’t move without feeling the spikes and the loneliness all around him. It wasn’t safe to move. The loneliness was going to crush him, the darkness would suffocate him, and no one would find him until it was too late. Kozu wouldn’t find him, if he was even looking.

It had been days, or it felt like it, since he had seen Kozu. He saw him in the hospital, briefly. But he left, and he never returned, and now all that visited mamoru was darkness. His Mark burned, it wanted to be close to Kozu, it needed him, Mamoru needed him. But he didn’t care.

Footsteps came thumping towards Mamoru and he curled into a ball. It was danger. It had to be danger.

_It could be Kozu_

It wouldn’t be!

_But it could be_

It wasn’t.

“Mamoru?”

A woman’s voice sounded. She was behind a door. The doorknob turned, the mechanism sticking and clunking roughly as it recoiled, making Mamoru jump. The hall light shone through the cracked door, revealing Mamoru on the bedroom floor, curled in a ball. His neck was red, the bandages torn away, bloody fingerprints on the pale skin of his neck, cheek and on his pajamas.

The small body was shaking, and it broke her heart a bit. “Mamoru..” his mother crouched down and reached to touch his side, watching as he flinched at the touch as if it caused him pain.

“-zu” he whispered, not acknowledging, or not recognizing the woman kneeling in front of him.

“Mamoru, sweety” the beta woman cooed, reaching up to touch her son’s cheek, avoiding the red spots.

Soon after the room light was flicked on by an alpha male, who sighed down at his son, and rubbed his forehead. “just pick him up and put him in bed” the man said and walked away, a tang of defeat in his voice.

“this isn’t his fault!” the woman called after him. “You know that! You heard what the teacher said, it was unexpected, it was sudden, no one could tell he was about to present!”

The man turned around but only briefly. “So what, we live with.. that? He’s never going to be an alpha.” He turned and headed down the stairs, his foots thudding lazily.

Turning back to Mamoru, the woman reached down and lifted him to sit up, and cupped his cheek. “Mamoru, please, mamoru” she lifted him so he was sitting up and pulled him to her chest. Her 14-year-old son, how did things get like this?

Mamoru leaned against her, and he moved his hands up to touch her shoulders moving away from her. He blinked his eyes, seeing the room around him. Coming out of his sleep and nightmare haze things started to piece themselves together.

Earlier on in the evening he had slammed his bedroom door and closed his blinds on purpose. He wanted it to be in the dark. He was angry at his parents, he hated them! They were making him stay at home, when he wanted to be at Kozus. He secluded himself to punish them.

But it backfired, and Mamoru had woken up in pure darkness, terrified and alone.

He looked up at his mother, his eyes watering as he woke up more. He wasn’t scared of the dark, but that didn’t curb the loneliness. He looked around his bedroom, the messy piles of clothes on the floor, the desk covered in homework, they all felt so far away, none of it mattered because he didn’t matter to the person he needed.

“Why wont he come see me mom?” Mamorus voice broke as he turned to the woman in front of him. “What did I do wrong?”

“Nothing, you’ve done nothing wrong” the mother answered, pulling Mamorus head to her chest, rubbing his back. This was breaking her heart. How could she keep telling her son he did nothing wrong, when she had tried contacting Kozu family every opportunity she had the past 2 days. She called over and over, and was just thrown into the voicemailbox. Her son needed answers, and she couldn’t provide them. But she wanted to, with all her heart.

“none of this is your fault baby, you are innocent and pure, and kind, and anyone would be lucky to have you”

“then why doesn’t he want me?!” his voice was muffled by her shirt. “why hasn’t he called, or texted or visited or anything” he gripped her shirt.

“you are not a mistake” she said firmly, and stood up, lifting him with her and walking him to the bed. “give me your phone, try calling him” she said, watching as Mamoru reached for his phone under the pillow.

The smartphone was silent, no notifications causing the led light to blink. The messages remained empty, the call log blank, save for a massive number of outgoing calls to a ‘Zuzu’. Even the social media accounts were barren of interaction, like Kozu was somehow alienating him from everyone he knew all at once.

The screen lit up and mamoru typed in the numbers. He knew them off by heart. ‘647-555-8917’ he whispered, and put the phone to his ear. 2 rings, and then the all familiar voicemail ‘You’ve uh, reached Kozu. Um, yea leave a message.. do people even leave messages? Ill check it I guess… uh.. bye..” BEEEP.

“Kozu.. Zuzu… please. Zuzu please, what did I do, im sorry” he started, clutching the phone with both hands. “please, call me back, I miss you. I need you to respond, please don’t leave me alone anymore, im scared! Please Zuzu-“

‘To save your message, press 1-“

“This is why everyone hates voicemail!’ Mamoru yelled into the device, disconnecting the call and restraining the urge to throw the phone across the room. Instead he clutched it tightly, resting his forehead on the end.

“Mom..-“

The device let out a chime, and another, and another. It was a call? It was a phone call!

Almost dropping the phone, Mamoru accepted the call, and brought it to his ear, slamming it into his head. “Zuzu?!?!”

“Morun!” an angry voice barraged through the phone, but somehow in a whisper. “Stop calling when Ryuu is here! He keeps taking my phone because of you.”

Mamoru shrank a bit, here was the verbal rejection to accompany the physical one.

“I-im sorry Zuzu.. ill.. but I.. I-“

“Why aren’t you going to school!? Go to school tomorrow! Are you hiding at home or something?” he growled. “I’ve been looking for you and you’re not showing up!”

“I-I..im at home why haven’t you come over?” Mamoru sniffled.

“Are you crying?!?” Kozu ignored the question and shuffling was heard on his end. “What reason are you crying? Im the one at school-gah- dealing with all the looks. They think I killed you or something. Hold on” the phone clunked and rustled. It was in a pocket?

“Zuzu?” Mamorus voice chirped.

Mamorus mother was surprised at the phone conversation now. She had been calling the parents, without luck. She had been keeping mamoru home from school to heal, assuming Kozu would be changed schools by now or held at home. If he was attending school, it seemed in her desperation she made some poor choices.

Rubbing Mamorus knee she kissed his forehead and stood up and gave her neck a small tap; she was going to get more bandages to patch him up.

Mamoru wasn’t paying attention, he was trying to figure out what Kozu was doing.

“Zuzu!” he called into the phone again.

The phone seemed to go dead for a moment before the voice returned, and seemed to be out of breath. “hey, Ma-Morun” he growled a small bit. “I said ‘hold on’ for a reason” he said and the phone went back to rustling.

Each second waiting was a second in hell. Mamoru had Kozu on the line, he was doing something, what was he doing? Mamoru had to get up and pace the room, pushing his hand through his hair.

He looked at the clock, the green numbers displaying 3:16. it was so late, he shouldn’t have called, but hearing Kozus voice already brought up so many emotions. If he got to see him..

“Mamoru, are you there?” the voice was softer, and much clearer. “Mamoru, im coming over. Unlock your front door.

“mamoru, I brought bandages” Mamorus mother chimed, walking back into the bedroom. It didn’t matter, Mamoru was rushing to the front door, unlocking it and running outside onto the street.

“Are you close?” he looked in both directions, his eyes searching frantically for the moving boy.

“I just left my house, ill be like 15 minutes. Don’t wake your parents they’ll call mine!” he growled.

“oh..” mamoru bit his lip and looked back at his house, his father stood in the doorway, scowling.

“What did you do?”

“They’re.. already awake” Mamoru said. “we all kinda woke up a little bit ago” he said. “They wont call your parents through! Please still come, please Zuzu, please please!” mamoru looked over at his father, whose anger changed back into disappointment as he walked back into the house.

“fine. Go inside and make popcorn or something” Kozu said. “I can’t be on the phone the whole time. Ill get there faster if I jog”

Mamoru sniffled and nodded. “Ill put some rice on the stove” he said. “did you already have dinner?”

“Yes, at 8pm, like normal people” Kozu said, and let out a small sigh at the desperation coming through the phone. “Just popcorns fine”

The blonde boy held his breathe and tried to not let his mind spiral back down into the loneliness. The sigh didn’t mean Kozu didn’t want to see him. The sigh didn’t mean he was annoyed or disappointed, or that he didn’t want to see him… right?

“I-ill let you go then” mamoru said, feeling his voice crack again, and felt a chill creep up his back, making it hard to breathe again. He finally got to speak to Kozu, he didn’t want to mess it up, he didn’t want to screw things up again.

“Mamoru-“ Kozu started but the phone line clicked off, and the screen light clicked off. And once again, mamoru was in the darkness.

Shaking, mamoru walked inside, and set his phone on the counter, face down. He could feel his mother watch him as he walked into the kitchen, hand over his mouth. Kozu was coming over.. he was supposed to be happy. He was happy. He remembered feeling the relief, the euphoria pass through his body and make him feel feather-light. He remembered that feeling so clearly. It lifted him, it made everything brighter.

But that was gone, it left his body like a sigh.

He reached down and grabbed a stove pot, filling it with water. He had to set it to boil. There wasn’t enough time to set up the rice cooker, so minute rice would have to do. It would suffice for a midnight snack.. or maybe should he just make popcorn like Kozu suggested. What if he didn’t want fried rice? But Kozu loved fried rice. But he asked for popcorn.

Mamoru set the stove to a boil and grabbed a bag of popcorn.

“Sweety?” the voice sounded softly, but still managed to jolt the boy. He turned quickly around, and looked up at his mom. His eyes were red, and he covered his mouth again. He was biting his lip, he was trying to keep all of his thoughts inside. He hated her expression when she was in pain, and hearing him word vomit everything he was thinking would just upset her.

“Let me bandage you up” she said, and reached to tilt his head.

“Ko-kozus coming over” he gulped down his word vomit. “y-you saw him in the hospital. He hated it being covered” he said, moving to make the Mark inaccessible.

“But its bleeding, its not going to heal properly if you don’t take care of it” she added some force to her voice.

“I don’t care” mamoru whispered, turning away and pouring the rice into the boiling water, moving it to the next burner “if Kozu doesn’t like it, he might not come back again!” he shouted, pushing away her arms as she tried to secure a bandage over the swollen, bleeding Mark.

Mamoru-“

“Mamoru” the thunderous voice of his father came down the stairs, followed by his body. “You’re going to let your mother put the bandage on. Understand?” he stood in front of his son, his voice curled in a growl. A superior alphas growl..

Mamoru gulped and looked up at his father, hating the paralyzing feeling that filled his body.

That’s what ensured Alphas maintained hierarchy. Their voice could supress the lower statuses and other alphas, depending on their rank.

Mamoru hadn’t been the recipient of too many alphas growl. Between the scents and the growls, the alphas were pretty much master manipulators or suppressors. The strength and potency of the control really depended on the mood of the alpha, and the age. Most adults could control their temper, and by proxy how much control they exerted on their subordinates. Its part of the reason behind the separation of alphas in schools, and why alphas make up a majority of higher grades teachers; it wouldn’t be good for an alpha student to force a teacher to up their grade because they were a lower status.

His father hadn’t been aggressive towards mamoru before either, because he assumed his son would present as an alpha. But things were intervened. Since then the relationship between them was a bit broken.

“Tilt your head” the growl continued, an Mamoru obeyed, knowing full well Kozu would hate it. He could hear the future interaction.

_‘You know I don’t want you covering my Mark!’_

_‘I know, I told them, they wouldn’t listen!’_

_‘whose more important? Me or them?’_

_‘you! Please don’t leave Kozu, please!’_

_‘I don’t believe you, you disgusting, clingy loser’_

Mamoru let out a small choke as the scenario played out, the bandage tied tightly on his neck. It was secured like a diaper, wrapping around his neck and sticking to itself. It was impossible to breathe!

“I-I can’t” mamoru reached to adjust it, but the scent imposing on the kitchen stopped mamoru in his tracks, making it even harder to breathe. “please- I can’t-“

“Don’t touch it” his father verbalized, scowling down at his son for being weak. “that better still be on in the morning, or ill have it stitched into your skin” his voice bit at Mamorus extremities, freezing him in place. Mamoru managed a small nod and that seemed to satisfy the father figure. The heavy scent dissipated to a degree but it left Mamoru feeling a bit dizzy.

The two adults left the room, leaving Mamoru alone in the kitchen. His mother spared a cursory glance back at him, her eyes full of worry, but she didn’t say anything as she was tugged up the stairs. Mamoru slid down the cupboard door, making contact with the cold tile underneath him.

The salt from the tears was beginning to make Mamorus eyes sting, they felt hot. Compared to the tile Mamorus whole body felt hot. It was all on fire, his fingertips were red and sore, his lips were swollen and red from biting back everything he wanted to say. His chest was burning up, the heat flowing up his throat and heating every breath to offer no reprieve to the mess that was his body. but at the center was this frozen ball of dread, that Kozu wasn’t really coming. That this was all a delusion, or possibly Kozu was coming, and he would walk into this mess, this dysfunction of a family. Both options were the worst. He couldn’t face Kozu, but he wanted him so badly to come rescue him and hold him and make everything better!

What if he thought that this was too much, he was too clingy, and needy and his parents were aggressive and rude and he didn’t want any child of theirs in his family. What if he abandoned him for good this time? What if he blamed mamoru for the Mark?

The hyperventilation seemed to at least bring in enough cool air to quell the fire in his chest, but they only revealed more panic ready to fire up and consume Mamorus thoughts.

It took a few solid minutes for Mamoru to stand up, and run his hands under the freezing tap water. He had to put the popcorn in. he had to make the food. Kozu wanted food. Kozu hadn’t had dinner yet. Kozu wanted his favorite food, Kozu asked for it, didn’t he? He had to have.

Mamoru needed Kozu to have asked for food.

The veggies weren’t hard to prepare, a bit of chopping, a bit of sautéing and everything was ready for the rice. He grabbed the pot handle, and turned to pour the puffy rice into the mix.

It took a second for mamoru to notice, but the handle was searing hot. He hadn’t turned off the burner, and left the handle overtop, and the heated metal was now pressed into Mamorus palm.

With a scream Mamoru dropped the pot, rice spilling over the stovetop and counter, knocking into the veggie mix and splashing soy sauce across the backsplash.

Running to the tap mamoru stick his palm under the cold water, but he could already feel it bubbling his skin. There was a definitive red mark running across his palm already, and it hurt to bend his hand.

Looking back at the mess he wanted to slap himself. Dinner was ruined. it was everywhere. How would Kozu want him if he was this stupid! There was rice everywhere some suck in the pot still, most of it was scattered across the stove. The sauce was mostly in the pan but a lot was spilling onto the stove, and onto the burner. Reaching over he turned off the heat, and tried to salvage everything. He gathered the safe rice, which as hard to do one handed, and stirred in the sauce and veggies.

The end result was dismal. There was barely enough for one plate, barely a fistful. How would Kozu believe this was for two people? Was it supposed to be a romantic plate share?? This wasn’t a stupid Disney movie! If it was it wouldn’t be this scary!

He tried making it look pretty, he cut some green onion, he got a second, fancy plate, he got the good chopsticks out. He didn’t want to be a failure.. he wanted the food to look good, even if he was a mess himself. The puffy eyes, swollen lips, strangled neck, bloody pajamas, and now burned and swollen hand. Yea he was a gem. ‘ _anyone would be lucky_ ’ his mother’s words seemed laughable now.

After making sure the burners were off Mamoru cleaned up the stove, and waited. He didn’t have to wait long. The unlocked door creaked open and Mamorus heart picked up speed.

“Ma?” the voice called out, and the soft footsteps moseyed towards the kitchen. “Did you make the popcorn?”

Mamorus heart sank as he saw the unpopped popcorn bag on the counter, next to the stupid dish of rice.

Mamoru opened the bag and clicked the pre-set popcorn option just as Kozu walked into the kitchen.

“It-its just finishing up” he said, and looked down at the rice.

Reaching down with his burned hand he grabbed as much rice as he could fit in his palm and hid it behind his back, leaving the plate with an outline of the mound that used to be there.

Kozu leaned up on the counter and looked at the microwave timer. “two minutes is almost done?” he smirked. “how long did you put it in for then?” he teased.

Mamoru forced a laugh. “two minutes isn’t long” he said, but the next few seconds felt like forever. He was standing there, with hot rice in his hand, which was already burning, the sauce dripping down his pajama shirt. He needed to throw it away without Kozu noticing. It wasn’t what Kozu wanted. He was vey specific on the phone.

“D-did you take your shoes off?” mamoru asked, hoping he would have an opportunity now.

“Oh oops” Kozu said. “sorry, I was in a bit of a rush”

“you love popcorn that much?” mamoru forced a smile, fighting the corners of his mouth every second.

Kozu frowned, killing Mamorus smile instantly. “I didn’t come over for popcorn, Morun, I came over because you haven’t been okay” he said and sighed again. The sigh. Again, mamoru fucked up.

Pushing the smile out again, mamoru tilted his head. “im okay” he said, praying Kozu didn’t hear his voice shaking.

He didn’t find out if his prayers were answered, because Kozu when toto take off his shoes. Mamoru took that opportunity to open the garbage and empty his hand of rice, and run his hand under the tap once more. The blistering was worse now, and it as really hurting. But a lot of mamoru was in pain at the moment, and in the grand scheme, his hand was only the 3rd most painful right now.

“what’s with the bandage?” Kozu asked, walking back silently without his shoes.

Mamoru reached up and touched the fabric, frowning. “I- my parents.. im sorry. I know you don’t want it covered” he faced away from Kozu to undo the straps, his hands shaking as his father’s threat stuck in his head. He pulled off one side, trying to mask the sound of the Velcro pulling away as he watched the stairs for his father to come back down.

Even one side as still attached it felt so much easier to breathe. It was so tight on his neck, it was like a river of oxygen straight down his throat.

He reached to undo the second strap, but the sound of footsteps made him freeze and turn around. It was just Kozu.

“Let me help” he said, motioning for Mamoru to lean down a bit. He undid the strap and removed the bandage, looking at the Mark. “Its still bleeding” he frowned and touched the edges.

The Mark on the right side of Mamorus neck wasn’t really normal. Kozu kinda.. did it wrong. Marks usually healed flat against the skin, and were a clear set of bite Marks. But the one Mamoru wore had 2 full Marks, and they were puffy. It looked a bit grotesque, but Kozu found it strangely appealing. He really liked it, he liked it on Mamoru. It was his Mark.

“Does it still hurt?” he asked, watching Mamoru flinch at the contact. “your scents off too.” He took an inhale. “and it reeks of your father” he growled slightly.

Mamoru backed away and bit his lip. “he..” he scratched his head nervously. “he wants me to keep the bandage on” he explained “he.. he got really mad about it and stuff” he kept his eyes down. “But you don’t like it, and I told them and-“

“Ma, what’s wrong with you?” Kozu asked, stopping Mamoru in his tracks. “I didn’t- Mamoru come here!” he sighed when he saw the words effect on his Mate. he didn’t mean it like that and Mamoru shouldn’t have taken it like that.

“I meant it as a concern” he said. “what’s wrong, seriously, somethings wrong. You’re upset, and you’re trying to hide it and frankly im insulted. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?” he walked over to the boy, pulling him into a hug.

“First you disappear from school, then you call me crying, and now you’re acting like im going to beat you” he frowned. “What’s wrong? Seriously?”

Mamoru tried to move out of the hug. He felt the panic rising in his chest again. This was what he wanted, but he didn’t want it. but he did want it.

Scrambling to pull himself away, Mamoru pressed his hand to Kozus shoulder, gasping when the pressure on the burn turned to extreme pain.

Letting go of the blonde boy, Kozu grabbed the hand and looked at it, frowning. “you’re hurt! You’ve got a burn. Why haven’t you taken care of it!” he asked, and pulled mamoru to the bathroom, and pushed him to sit on the toilet while he got the polysporin and bandages.

Kozus hands were so soft on his, it made mamoru want to cry. It felt like that was all he was doing, crying. Here was his Alpha, the boy he wanted to hug and kiss and hold and love, but he was afraid. He didn’t want to spoil the moment and make it all about him, he didn’t want to be clingy or whiny he didn’t want to bore Kozu or annoy him or push him away. Kozu was an alpha now, he wanted strength.

Massaging the crème into his palm, Kozu wrapped a bandage around Mamorus hand, tying it at the back. “is it too tight?” he asked, and mamoru shook his head.

“Good, then let’s get the popcorn and sit on the couch” he said and took Mamorus uninjured hand.

Mamoru stood in silence as he watched the alpha.

“What’s this from?” Kozu nudged the plate on the counter, the one that previously held the rice Mamoru had almost died making.

“I-nothing” mamoru said, fidgeting with his fingers. “It was just something stupid” he turned to walk to the livingroom, but heard Kozu inspecting more around the plate. He saw the dirty dishes in the sink, evidence of recent cooking.

“You made food” he said, a slight smirk showing up on his lips, but mamoru just saw the anger that he didn’t listen.

“were you hungry? I mean I just asked for popcorn because I was looking for a snack, you can make food for yourself” he said and shrugged. He grabbed the bag and headed to the livingroom, waiting for mamoru to follow him.

Mamoru sat next to him, and fidgeted with his fingers. “I-“

“go get the bandage” Kozu interrupted. “if your dad got that mad, and its going to stress you out, then its fine.” He said, popping a few kernels in his mouth and moving Mamorus hair to see the mark and smile. “its really pretty though. Do you like it?”

Mamoru touched the edges and smiled softly. He really did like it. it wasn’t like other Marks, it was special to him, and it was from Kozu. It was a special mark from his Alpha. Even if it was ‘disfigured’ like his mother called it, he liked it, and he hated it when they tried to convince him to get a plastic surgeon to fix it. it wasn’t broken!

“I love it Zuzu.” He looked over at the alpha. “I love it so much”

Kozu smirked proudly. “good, im glad. Now go get the bandage, ill put it on. It looked too tight last time anyways” he said.

Mamoru stood up and walked to the kitchen, grabbing the bandage from the counter. There were spots of blood on the cotton, but it wasn’t like he was actually bleeding. He was about to turn back when he heard footsteps again and saw Kozu walking towards him.

“I-I was coming.. back” he trailed off. He hadn’t meant to be so slow..

“no no, I was going to get a washcloth anyways” Kozu said, and found a cloth and running it under the tap. He didn’t have to ask about where things were. He had been over enough times.

Mamoru had been best friends with Kozu for as long as either of them could remember. Kozu was over all the time, and knew both of Mamorus parents, often using their first names. He had been a shy boy, meek and passive. He was bullied by his older brother Ryuu, an alpha, to an almost abusive level. The number of times Mamoru had to patch up Kozu..

But the roles were reversed, and now Kozu was the one caring for Mamoru. Kozu was the alpha, and Mamoru was the Mate.

While no one truly knows before the child presents during puberty, people speculate based on genetics and personality traits. Kozu, who had been the most shy and weak child was never assumed an alpha-to-be. Mamoru on the other hand, was.

“when I present, ill Mark you and take you away from Ryuu and protect you” 7-year-old Mamoru proclaimed one day. Without the real notion of what a Mark was, the little boy knew it meant you loved someone and wanted to be there for them. Parents were Marked pairs, celebrities, mentors, they all proclaimed the love that came with being Marked, and to Mamoru that meant Kozu was his to Mark. Presenting would be like a thumbs up to Mark his friend, the one he loved.

But that’s not how things worked out. The Marking wasn’t romantic or soft or filled with love. It had been terrifying, unexpected, filled with pain. Whereas Mamoru should have gone through Aftercare, he was tossed into a sterile hospital room for 3 days, without being given the opportunity to present.

Aftercare was important after a Marking. It was like a reinforced bonding or an emotional knotting. It could take a few minutes to a few hours. It was when the Alpha helped the Marked one through any pain, helped to Seal the Mark, and scent one another. Alphas became extremely sensitive to others in their surroundings, who may be looking to interfere, or hurt the Marked One. Some seemed to lose all reason and fall into the basic instincts or go feral, especially if it was their first Marked one.

Aftercare was an intimate, soft, and absolutely necessary process, that Mamoru was robbed of.

Because of the lack of Aftercare, his Mark hadn’t sealed and wouldn’t heal flat. The nights spent alone in the hospital room created this disconnect, essentially closing off the intimacy between the two of them. Marking brought an inherent closeness, a conjoined aspect, and that was created or reinforced during aftercare.

For 3 days Mamoru sat alone, until Kozu came to see him.

Hospitalization wasn’t a normal occurrence for new Markings, even if they take place at a school. Most schools had Heat Rooms set up that if it occurred, mostly for the protection of other students if the Alpha was sensitive.

Heat Rooms were usually reserved for an omega who entered their Heat, with scent blockers and reinforced walls and doors, but they served their purpose for both scenarios.

Mamoru hadn’t presented yet, which posed the problem and the need for hospitalization.

A child may present as an Alpha or Omega, with tell-tale behavioral tells. If nothing significant happens the child is deemed a beta, which was about 70% of the instances. Alphas would present though extreme anger outbursts, enhanced aggression and a more forward or confrontational approach to things.

Omegas presentations would show through the enhanced scenting, and sensitivity, the more passive personalities, and a larger reaction to alpha adults or classmates.

No matter the status they children would undergo a physical change, the skin on their neck would change. Alphas experienced little change, but omegas and betas skin would change significantly, to prepare for Marks.

Much like teething or growing pains, the neck area would often feel tingly or itchy, and would be easier to scratch, scar or Mark. Only after Presenting that strip of skin would be ready to accept, and settle a Mark properly. With mamoru having not presented at the time of his Making proved dangerous, because his body did not have the processes set in place to take the Mark and heal itself. The blood wouldn’t stop.

“You have blood everywhere, what did you do? Murder someone?” Kozu asked, wiping Mamorus forehead, cheek and fingers. “Its on your pajamas too” he sighed and started unbuttoning Mamorus shirt. “what did you do?”

Mamoru blushed when he felt Kozus fingers graze his skin. He was still deeply in love with the male, his crush only growing since his promise at the age 7.

“I think I scratched it. I woke up and it was bleeding again” he answered. “Y-you don’t have to-“

“Ma, shut up” Kozu smirked up at him and poked him with the cloth. “I want to. I want to do stuff like this. I want to, I promise” he looked up at him until mamoru nodded in understanding.

Sliding the shirt off, Kozu reached up and secured the bandage on Mamorus neck, adjusting it 3 different times until it wasn’t constricting his breathing.

“should I lick it first?” Kozu suggested, after finally getting the bandage on. “If its bleeding, it hasn’t Sealed. I mean its been 5 days”

Mamorus cheeks burned when he imagined Kozu leaning over and licking his neck. It was.. intimate and romantic and kinda sexual..

“I-I-if you think that would be helpful” Mamoru looked away, pushing his hand into his hair. “I-I mean its up to you, I don’t want to impose, im.. im not the alpha here its to you really if you want to. I can’t say for sure what ill-“

Kozu let out a soft chuckle and took Mamorus hand and pulled him to the couch. “sit. Pull your hair over. Its so damn long now” he messily pushed the strands away from the bandage, pulling off the freshly applied straps.

“I feel like I should be grossed out right now. Im about to essentially kiss your neck, with an open, bloody wound” Kozu said. “but im not.. its weird” he looked up at Mamoru, whose face was all red. “If its gunna gross you out, pretend im a girl trying to get in your pants or something” he said. “now that’s gross”

Before Mamoru had time to properly brace himself, the soft lips came down on his neck, enveloping Mamoru in almost a glow of happiness.

The feelings came from more than just that the one he loved was touching him. While that feeling sent shivers up his spine and gave him goosebumps, the warmth from the Mark was almost overwhelming. The late Aftercare, the Alpha contact, the intimate contact with the Mark as the go-between, it felt like something had clicked into place, like Mamoru could breathe again, like things were going to be okay.

Physically things didn’t feel like they changed, his neck felt wet, and his skin felt tingly. He looked down at Kozu as he pulled away, wiping his lips for saliva.

“How does that feel?”

Mamoru stared down blankly for a moment, unaware Kozu had spoken. He looked unbelievably attractive, and Mamoru couldn’t help but want to lean down and kiss him. He almost let out a moan when Kozu was on his neck. But that would only have worsened the situation.

“Ma?” Kozu poked his chest, making Mamoru blink and touch his neck. There wasn’t any blood, but now it was sticky. It didn’t feel gross though..

“Thanks” the body smiled and exhaled. “it.. it helped more than you know” he bit his lip.

With a smile Kozu brought the bandage around and secured it again, making sure it wasn’t hurting Mamoru.

“Is it okay that you’re not at home?” Mamoru asked after a moment. “Wont your parents be mad?”

“my parents? Neither of them are really home too often. Ryuus the one I’ve got to worry about. He’s like.. dead set on making sure I hate being an alpha” he said. “he’s taken my phone, he’s sabotaged my uniform, its annoying as all hell” he frowned “he’s upset that im an alpha now too. I told you he was the reason I couldn’t get to you in the hospital, right?”

Mamoru nodded, but the memory made him frown. “I hate Ryuu. I needed you so badly” he said. “It was so lonely, and I thought you..” his throat felt a bit tighter as he tried to speak. “I thought you didn’t want me. I thought I was being abandoned”

“What?! No, no way in hell!” Kozu sat up and turned to face Mamoru. “that’s not happening.” He gripped his shoulders. “im not abandoning you. I will never abandon you, I promise. I swear on my life, Ma, Mamoru, Morun. You are my Mate, you have my Mark. That means I will take care of you forever, until one of us dies” he hugged him tightly. “don’t ever think ill abandon you, ever again.”

Mamoru hugged back, and buried his nose into Kozus neck. He smelled warm, like the Zuzu he had known forever.

Kozus face shot red and he held Mamoru back a bit. “w-w-well someone’s bold!” he stammered. He wasn’t expecting Mamoru to go for the neck, Scenting like that was something more.. intimate. They may be Mates but they weren’t romantic at all! Mamoru was his best friend.. not his boyfriend.

Mamoru was a bit shocked at first but quickly realized the mistake. Kozu didn’t love him in that way. Mamoru knew that from the beginning, he just..

“Sorry” he sniffled. “sorry, im such a mess. I’ve been out of sorts since I woke up“ he said, moving so Kozu didn’t have to hold him back. “I wont do that again”

Since the beginning, Mamoru had been adept at reining in his urges and not letting Kozu catch onto his feelings. It wasn’t particularly difficult, but it was harder now. He wanted to be held by Kozu and hugged and touched and comforted, but that wasn’t what Kozu could handle. It wasn’t going to happen.

Mamoru would have to learn how to cope, to self soothe.

Pulling his knees to his chest, Mamoru handed Kozu the TV remote. He doubted the boy wanted to sit in silence.

Tossing the remote onto the floor Kozu sighed. “I told you already!” he frowned. “I came here for you, not for food or TV. You were crying on the phone, why. Tell me why, right now” he wrapped his arms around Mamorus shoulders, pulling his head to his chest.

The 14 year old chest wasn’t exactly a tempurpedic, but it was exactly where Mamoru wanted to be. Releasing the hold on his knees he wrapped his arms around Kozus waist. His hair was stroked and he looked up at his Alpha.

“I just.. I had a nightmare. From when I was in the hospital” he said. “that.. and not seeing you.. I just.. I missed you so much Zuzu” he hugged him tightly, squeezing the air from the younger boy’s body. “I was so scared. I don’t want you to hate me or leave me or regret me-“

“Morun” Kozu whispered, and rubbed Mamorus back. “So, what was it, were you actually in the hospital?” he asked, “was Takeshi there” his voice flattened. He hated Takeshi.

Mamoru nodded then shook his head. “No one was there. It was just me. For days. It felt like years. No one was there, I was all alone”

“were there monsters? Or something to be afraid of?” he asked, keeping the Touch on Mamorus back constant.

“No” The boy shook his head. “nothing happened. There weren’t any monsters”

“Then you have nothing to worry about” Kozu said. “you just wait to wake up. Nothings going to hurt you. You’ll be fine”

Mamoru was hesitant to agree. Kozu didn’t understand. He didn’t know how it felt.

“The Marks changed things” Mamoru whispered. He didn’t know how to make Kozu understand. “Its changed a lot, its connected us” he looked up at Kozu. “now… the thought of you abandoning me is more painful than.. if I cut off a limb” he said. “And you didn’t show up, for three days. That’s three days of physical pain and anxiety and the never ending fear that everything had gone wrong!” he gripped Kozus arms, trying to keep his composure. Just talking about it was making his throat tighten up.

“its worse than being suffocated by an Alpha growl. Its worse than waiting for exam results. It feels like im waiting for an executioner!” Mamorus voice got louder as his throat tightened. Kozu didn’t get it! He would never understand! He did this! and he would never understand!

“There may not be monsters or scary things in the nightmare, but I had to relive that fear and pain for what felt like DAYS. Weeks even!” he let go of Kozus arms and stood up, his legs shaky. “you weren’t there! You Marked me, and you didn’t come for me” Mamoru sniffled. “and when you did.. you didn’t stay. You left me” he looked at Kozu, and felt a wave of guilt wash over him.

Since when did he become to whiney. He was being too possessive. He was expecting too much from Kozu. He was pushing his insecurities onto his best friend. Kozu had always been a bit flighty. Suddenly Presenting as an Alpha wouldn’t change that instantaneously. Of course, he would be too shy to come by or feel awkward or something. That’s why everyone thought he would be a beta or omega.

Mamoru was confusing his romantic feelings with the feelings from the Mark. He couldn’t expect Kozu to make everything better, or want to hold him close or want to kiss him. But.. he kinda did expect that.

“Years of planning what to do after I marked You..” he trailed off. “S-sorry. I put unrealistic expectations on.. you..” he frowned. Everything inside of him felt like it was a mess. He wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

“Ma,” Kozu stood up and moved towards him.

“Don’t!” Mamoru stepped back. “Don’t touch me. Ill just.. ill cope”

Kozu let out a small growl and grabbed Mamorus wrist, careful of the burn on his palm. “just stop this.. sacrificial crap. You’re not doing this alone you know, im here too!”

“But you don’t know-“

“there’s a lot I don’t know! but that doesn’t mean im never going to know it! and that doesn’t mean you can’t tell me. You were prepared for all this, so don’t just run away and take all the secrets with you” Kozu scowled. “you can’t leave me here by myself either!”

Mamoru looked down at Kozu and sniffled.

“if I knew you would have a nightmare from me not going to see you I would have chewed through my arm to escape Ryuu and come see you. I didn’t even know where you were. They didn’t tell me anything!”

Looking up at Mamoru, Kozu sighed at the red puffy eyes. “What can I do right now, in this moment, to make you feel better?” he asked. “and what can I do in the future? Come on boy-wonder, share your secrets”

Mamoru bit his lip. He wanted to say something but Kozu would shoot it down. He should shoot it down. It was dangerous. It would get them in trouble. But..

“Sleep with me”

It took a few seconds to sink in before Mamorus head exploded. “I meant like actual sleep, in a bed or couch or something. Nothing.. not THAT kind of sleep together” he tried pulling away to go hide his face in a corner and die of embarrassment.

Kozu held onto his wrists and nodded” Alright” he smirked and hook his head. “So, bed or couch”

Mamoru looked down at Kozu and paused. “What?”

“I said sure, lets go to bed. If that’s what will make you feel better, its not like we haven’t slept in the same bed before.” He said. And if you have another nightmare I can be there to reassure you when you wake up” he let go of Mamorus wrists and waited for him to decide.

“b-bed” Mamoru said and headed towards the stairs. He turned around before they ascended. “A-are you sure its okay?” he asked.

Kozu pushed mamoru so he started up the stairs. “yes! Its fine!” he laughed. “im your alpha and I say its fine. Trust me for once”

Mamoru wiped his nose. “last time I trusted you..” he let out a snicker. “I ended up in the lake”

“Well now you’ll end up in bed” he went and turned off the bedroom light, making his way slowly back to the bed.

Mamoru crawled into the sheets and felt the bed dip as his alpha crawled in.

“Ma? Come here” Kozu wrapped his arms around Mamorus shoulders. “im sorry. I should have gotten to you sooner. I haven’t been a very good Alpha but im going to get better. Ill be the best, strongest Alpha. As long as im a higher rank than Ryuu I can protect you from him” he said. “he’s evil incarnate and you’re… you’re an angel” he tightened his hug. “So help me, lets do this together okay?”

Mamoru didn’t answer for a moment, and Kozu assumed he had gone to sleep already, until he piped up. “next time answer your phone”

~

The nightmares didn’t stop, and occurred on almost a nightly basis. It was clear after 6 weeks of Kozu making midnight trips to the Hyakuya household that things needed to change, and they did. An apartment was made available in a nearby building for the two of them to live in. Well, ‘made available’ but the apartment had been set aside for Ryuu for when he found a Mate. For the time being it was given to Kozu and Mamoru.

The two shared a bed in order to keep Mamorus nightmares under control. Takeshi Izumi, a doctor, brought to light the Aftercare dilemma, suggesting that as the cause.

“I offered to help you until Kozu came for you” the young doctor sighed. “it could have prevented this.”

“You couldn’t promise me that it would affect my bond with Kozu” Mamoru responded. “I wasn’t exactly making decisions with a clear head either” he frowned. “I was scared and panicked”

“Touch my Mate again and ill rip your arm off” Kozu growled, standing in between the doctor and Mamoru. He wouldn’t forget what the medical bastard did.

Armed with information, the two tried ways of stopping the nightmares, from voice recordings of Kozu played on repeat into Mamorus headphones, to working on their skinship, to sleeping with their wrists tied together, anything to tell mamoru that Kozu was right next to him, and stop the nightmares.

None of it worked.

Night after night, Mamoru would sit up in bed, drenched in a cold sweat, on the verge of tears. Kozu would sit up next to him, rub his back a bit, try and reassure him everything was okay, and lull him back to sleep.

As they aged, Kozus involvement lessened. With the addition of Misono to their pack, the three of them moved to a small house and Mamoru slept in his own bed.

The nightmares continued, and it was Mamorus turn to make the nightly pilgrimage to Kozus bed post-nightmare.

The blonde would creep down the hall, still in the process of waking up, and stand in the doorway. “Kozu? Are you there?” the boy would whimper, his body shaking.

He would wait for a sound of confirmation, be it Kozus voice, or the sound of him moving in bed, before heading to the bed and crawling in. Kozu would rub his chest, rub his arm, comfort him like before until he could breathe and fall asleep.

He was grateful to the Alpha for putting up with his nightmares for this long, and he tried reining in the neediness a bit, he didn’t want to bug him more than he had to.

Kozu seemed to share the sentiment as they got older, becoming increasingly frustrated and agitated by the nightmares and the routine they needed. They even sparked an argument once or twice.

“For Christ’s sake mamoru! Why does this have to be every night! I just fell asleep! Cant you handle it one night by yourself!” the alpha scowled as he was woken up by the blonde again, at 3am. It was like clockwork! Every night at 3am.

“Can’t you just. set an alarm at 2 and stay awake until 3 or something? Try and skip it if its on such a schedule!”

The outburst had shocked Mamoru, and for a few days at least he tried to handle it on his own. He tried not sleeping, he tried ‘skipping’ it like Kozu had suggested. When those didn’t work and he woke up feeling like he couldn’t breathe again, he forced himself away from Kozus room and sat on the balcony for a few hours, trying to force air into his chest. It was painful. It had been a while since he had to deal with his nightmare on his own; Almost 3 years. It didn’t help that Kozu was pissed at him.

After a week of self-management, Kozu joined Mamoru on the balcony at 4am.

He brought hot chocolate.

“Have they gotten better over the past few years at all?”

Mamoru shook his head, sipping the liquid. “I don’t even know I’ve woken up for like 5 minutes” he said. It was why his bed was pressed against the wall. Hospital beds weren’t against the wall. It would serve as a remainder of some sorts that he wasn’t in the hospital.

“I didn’t say avoid me when they happen. I was tired and stressed. I didn’t mean it Morun”

Mamoru let out a soft smile, more or less forcing it. “its okay if you meant it. I’ve been relying on you too much to help me get through them. Maybe if I handled them on my own they’d get better, or id get used to them-“

“Worst idea ever” Kozu interrupted, stopping that train of thought immediately. “you want to try and ‘get used to’ that level of fear?” he frowned. “don’t be stupid. I never want you to feel like being scared is normal. Its abnormal, and it is dealt with by both of us.” He moved closer to Mamoru and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, rubbing his back.

“im not going anywhere. Im not abandoning you. Im not pushing you away.” He reassured, lifting Mamorus hair to see his Mark, the raised teeth marks labelling Mamoru as his.

Mamoru was done crying, but that didn’t stop him from sniffling and trying to hide his emotions in the beverage. He leaned onto Kozus side and tilted his neck to let Kozu see.

“How did you know I was out here?”

“the bed was never messy on your side of the bed” Kozu said. “even when you wake up earlier, you never make the bed before you go.” He said. “Morun”

Even after the resolution, Mamoru was hesitant about beelining it for Kozus room. He would wait, sometimes an hour, before crawling between the sheets. He tried hot showers, he tried browsing Facebook, he tried watching tv. He even tried masturbating, but nothing could calm him down enough, even when he was surrounded by his and Kozus things. He could be wearing Kozu jacket and looking at a picture of him, but it didn’t hold a candle to the instant relief that cuddling up to Kozu gave him. The Touch, the contact, the physical aspect of holding him and claiming him banished the residual nightmare, and made the air breathable again.

But after the fight, Mamoru couldn’t go back to feeling as comfortable asking for help as he had been. A part in the back of his mind told him that Kozu was only acting like he was okay with it, that it was still driving him insane. Kozu would try and take Mamorus feelings into consideration, surely, and telling him that it was a momentary lapse of frustration would be a face saver. That didn’t stop Mamoru from feeling self-conscious about his clinginess.

He used to be so open about how much help he needed. He would need help with high shelves, or a recipe, or lifting things even, he would happily call on Kozu. He would rely on him for a lot of things. But things changed. And mamoru stopped asking for help. Kozu stopped offering as well.

Mamoru had his duties he performed, Kozu had his. That’s how things should be. Mamoru couldn’t expect others to rescue him every time. Even if he did crawl into Kozus bed still on a nightly basis, he didn’t wake him up. Maybe once every two weeks he would purposefully wake Kozu, but the rest of the time he watched him sleep. He deserved sleep. He deserved a lot more.

“Kozu?” Mamoru stood in the doorway, one hand rubbing his chest, the other holding the door.

There wasn’t a reply from the bed, but Mamoru walked in anyways. He closed the door behind him, blocking out any light that would wake Kozu. He walked over to the bed, and slid under the covers. He faced away from Kozu, and stayed by the edge.

He took a deep breath and felt his breath shudder. He had to keep quiet.

He let out a surprised gasp when he felt arms from the left side of the bed pulling him backwards towards the middle of the bed.

“Ma” a sleepy Kozu murmured. “Nightmare?”

Mamoru nodded.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Mamoru wanted to say yes. He wanted those familiar words, that reassurance, that comfort and Touch and he wanted to ask for help again, but before he could answer Kozu was already snoring.

Rolling over Mamoru got really close, wrapping his arms around Kozus torso and burying his face in his chest. “yes, I do want to talk about it” he whispered, almost mouthing it.

But Kozu wouldn’t hear it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come on, hes not that bad you guys, see! cant you see the progression of how things went?
> 
> I defend Kozu like i defend Kacchan. Im starting to see a pattern


	6. Hinata Boke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata finally realizes Kageyama has been trying to court him for weeks!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter isnt really part of one of my series, its just kinda cute and fluffy kagehina fun!

“You’re courting me~” Hinata giggled, looking up at the black-haired crow that was Tobio Kageyama. “you’re courting me, and you know it”

Kageyama looked down at the little Chibi, who was dangerously walking backwards. “Yes, I know. the whole school knows. It was in the school paper for gods sake” he rolled his eyes, to distract from the smirk that was on his lips. “Now face forwards, you’ll fall” he physically turned Hinata, sliding their hands together in order to keep him at his side.

“you’re courting cause you like me” he chimed again, almost as if was supposed to be a tease.

This had been happening for about 3 days now, ever since Hinata took that online quiz, “Are you being courted by an Alpha”.

It was one of those pointless, 4am boredom tests, one level above ‘what kind of pizza topping are you’ but the results had been positive. Kageyama had woken up to a link to a quiz titled ‘Are you courting an Omega’, which was apparently the partner quiz. He completed it, sent the positive results to Hinata, and was spammed with about a hundred smiley face stickers.

Kageyama had been under the impression Hinata knew he was being courted. Kageyama gave him gifts, he took him out on their days off, he sent casual text messages, they sat cuddled together during meetings at practice.

Maybe he hadn’t said it in so many words, but he didn’t think it was a secret. And now that he knew, Hinata was telling everybody he saw, even the community volleyball team.

“now those gifts make sense” Hinata cooed, having realized their purpose. “the blanket, the jacket, they all smelled of you, I thought you wanted me to do your laundry” Hinata had been confused when Kageyama stopped by just to drop off items. He now owned 1 of Kageyamas blankets, two of his jackets, a stuffed crow plushie and a black and orange hair tie.

The two were on their way home from practice, where, surprise surprise, no one was shocked at Hinatas revelation. Kageyama was relieved at least they realized what was going on. It was just Space Cadet Hinata in oblivion. Nishinoya had been excited for Hinata, while Asahi was sympathetic to Kageyamas probable frustration. Asahi had been trying to get Nishinoya to start courting, and so far, it seemed being short meant being oblivious.

“did you wash them?” Kageyama asked, a bit annoyed. If his clothes weren’t going to be worn he would like the jackets back. He only had so many.

“I sleep with the blanket” Hinata said. “it smells of you, and it makes me happy” he giggled. “Even happier that I know its because you’re courting me~” it was like he was teasing him, but the taunt was true, and it didn’t bug Kageyama.

‘Good” the Alpha leaned down and pecked his temple, drawing a coo from the omega. His cheeks flared red and he looked up at the Alpha, catching the blush on his face as well.

“S-so does your mom know you’re courting me?” Hinata asked. “Does my mom know?!”

Kageyamas smiled faded a bit and he pushed his hair back. “I don’t care if my mom knows” he said. “but im pretty sure your mom knows. She’s been courted before, she would probably recognize the signs”

At least he hoped so. He hadn’t exactly been following the rule book to a tee, but he wasn’t skipping major steps. Courting nowadays was just like dating, which made it just a bit weirder that Hinata didn’t know. Traditional Courting’s were supposed to be formal, but no one followed old styles anymore, and as long as no one was Marked, then pretty much anything went.

He was really excited about giving Hinata the gifts though. He wanted the Omega to always have something that smelled of him, to both keep him happy and to tell other alphas that Hinata was occupied. Choosing what to give him had been the hardest part. He had considered buying new clothes and scenting them, but that almost felt too impersonal. He had asked for an extra Karasuno jacket, considering how often Hinata wore his but was declined. He ended up finding his smallest jackets and gifting them.

“She hasn’t said anything to me” Hinata shrugged and wrapped his arm around Kageyamas, leaning his head on his shoulder. “but.. I mean she saw the gifts and hung them up nicely when she usually just grabs the messy clothes” so maybe that was a positive sign.

The area was quiet, and neither of them were speaking for once. The plays in the practice were over, Hinata had his allotted ‘more tosses’ after practice ended, the meat buns had been consumed, and now it was a silent walk home.

It wasn’t an uncomfortable silence. In fact, it was actually quite comfortable. Kageyama hummed at the heat coming from the omega on one side, and the cool night breeze on the other side as they headed into the park. The park wasn’t necessarily on the direct route home, but it was most often a stop they made because Hinata would always want more tosses. The place was usually empty at this time of the night, save for the occasional couple or two. It seemed to be a nice spot for a date, if you didn’t mind the shoutings of two teenage boys practicing late at night.

“Tosses?” Hinatas voice popped up like an eager puppy, his tail practically wagging with excitement as he recognized the park spot. He slid his bag off his shoulder and turned to face Kageyama, smiling like an idiot.

“Not tonight” Kageyama said, and watched the smile fall a bit, but not disappear. “I want to do something different tonight” he stepped closer, taking Hinatas hands into his, pulling him closer. He smirked at the curious expression on Hinatas face, and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Im courting you remember?”

Kageyama brought his hand up to Hinatas cheek, rubbing the soft skin with the pad of his thumb. It was so soft, even if he had been a sweaty mess an hour before. Kageyama smiled down at the boy who was staring up at him, doe eyed. “I want to kiss you” he said, and leaned down so their lips were millimeters apart, their foreheads touching. “Is that alright?” he whispered, trying to keep the nervous sounds from his voice.

The soft, pink lips were right there in front of him, and he wanted to touch them and kiss them and feel them move against his. No doubt the kissing technique would be awful, YouTube videos could only provide so much information, but he wanted to try anyways. They hadn’t had a proper kiss yet, with Hinatas lack of self-awareness being at fault.

Hinatas face blossomed red quicker than when he was hit by a volleyball. He was thrown off by how close Kageyama had gotten and took a step back, pulling himself from the gentle touches Kageyama had on him. The places of contact still burned hot.

“Wha-what” he looked at his hands as he pulled at his fingers for a second. “you want to.. kiss” his voice lowered and he touched his bottom lip, his giddy smile overtaking them easily enough. He had been startled by the sudden proximity, as well as the scent.

He was used to Kageyamas scent, he knew it pretty well. As an omega, he was sensitive to scents, and could tell statuses apart, and even different people if he knew their individual scents. Those on the team were easy to tell apart now. If the classroom door was open he could tell when a member walked past.

Emotions could be read through scents as well. The more someone was familiar the easier it was to distinguish emotions like relief or confusion, but anger and fear were universally detectable; especially in alphas. If an alpha was angry, it made everyone stop. The scent paralyzed them. It was an evolutionary trait, for offensive and defensive purposes.

Hinata remembered the first time he felt the anger of an alpha, he was 7. His mother, a beta, had bumped into a man at the supermarket, and the scent of annoyance had been enough to send him into a panic, unable to move. It had felt like his world was closing in on him, like something was suffocating him or had punched him in the chest. He hadn’t been able to breathe or think or move.

His mother had been fine, Betas had a higher tolerance for the scents; with duller noses than omegas.

But Kageyama didn’t smell angry. He smelled.. nervous, but excited. He smelled warm, inviting, like a warm jar of honey, ready to embrace you and keep you for all of eternity. It was so intense!

He kinda regretted stepping back now. He wanted to take in more of that sweet scent, to get closer. He didn’t mean to reject the alphas advances. Looking up he saw a smirk, not a scowl, on Kageyamas face, and an outstretched hand.

Hinata placed his hand in Kageyamas and was pulled close. “Come here” he was told, and pulled to Kageyamas chest. Hinata took the opportunity to bury his nose in Kageyamas neck, taking in the new scent from the source.

“What’s this scent” Hinata hummed, wrapping his arms around his suitor. He jumped when he felt a nose on his own neck, rubbing against his scent gland under his jaw. He let out a small hum. Normally his neck was very sensitive and ticklish, but he wasn’t feeling the giggles. He was engrossed in the boy in front of him.

“Oranges, like your hair’” Kageyama purred, tugging at the strands. “eternal bedhead much?”

Hinata giggled, and looked up at Kageyama, the moonlight curving around his straight black hair. It was flat against his head, making the moons reflection look like it was just bouncing from a scalp “baldie” he giggled quietly.

“what!” the alpha lightly growled, letting go of Hinata to check his head for hair loss. He was only 14, he couldn’t be going bald already!

The panic sent Hinata into a fit of giggles as he watched the stoic alpha make faces as he ran his fingers tough his hair, checking for any fallen strands. Settling down, Hinata sat on the grass, eventually laying on his back to look up at the night sky. There were a couple big stars visible, that they could see up here in Miyagi but not in Tokyo. That’s what he disliked about the big city, no stars to see. No parks to lay in and stargaze, cuddle, or relax in. But the trade-off was he got to see Kenma and Inuoka and the rest of Nekoma, as well as the Fukurodani guys. A lot of his friends were in Tokyo, but a lot more were in Miyagi. And Kageyama was in Miyagi.

Satisfied with his follicle situation, Kageyama joined Hinata on the ground with a groan. He slid his arm under Hinata, adjusting until they were both comfortable.

It was a quiet moment, romantic even. They weren’t exchanging words, they didn’t need to. There wasn’t anything that could be said at the moment that could make this any better. They still hadn’t kissed though.

Hinata scooted closer to Kageyama, and turned to press his lips to his shoulder. He knew he should be watching the stars, but he wanted to watch Kageyama more. The cool, stoic setter, bathed in moon and star light. “Cute” he whispered.

“Hmm?” Kageyama looked over at Hinata. “did you say something?”

Hinata giggled and shook his head, and leaned up, pressing his lips to Kageyamas, holding it for a moment before rolling back onto his back. Instantly he felt his heart pound, and he wondered if Kageyama could hear it. His first kiss! His first kiss ever, his first kiss with Kageyama! It had been a spur of the moment decision, but he was happy now, and was rewarded with more of the honey scent, warming him and drawing a purr from him.

If he had looked over at Kageyama he would have seen the boy in a state of shock and awe. Hinata had stolen his plan, but that was okay. Of course, the planned out kiss would pale in comparison to the emotional in the moment kiss. It left the alphas lips tingling. He looked over at the omega, who was in just pure bliss.

“what are you thinking?” Kageyama asked after a moment.

After a moment Hinata looked up at Kageyama. “Think any dogs have peed on this grass?”

Kageyama deadpanned. “Well there goes that romantic moment” he laughed and sat up, looking over at Hinata, still on his back. The little omega was pleased with himself it seemed, his mouth open in contagious giggles. Kageyama let out a few and stood up, wiping the grass from his uniform.

Apparently, he was missing a bunch as Hinata sat up and helped, picking off the bits from the back of his legs. “Grassy-Yama” he taunted.

“You’re one to talk” the alpha scoffed, bending own and picking a few blades from Hinatas hair.

When he was free and clear of grass, Hinata lay back down, and looked up at the stars, the orange hair splayed across the green grass, outlining the soft boy in the moonlight. Was there a situation in which Hinata wasn’t adorable?

Kageyama had felt the pull towards the kid since he saw him, before he even knew he was an omega. He just knew he wanted him.

When he saw him at the tournament in middle school he thought nothing of it. his heart quickening was because of the excitement, not because of any omega, although if he really thought about it, it was probably those moments that sealed Kageyamas fate. He was just too self involved to notice it back then. Alot of things made his heartbeat quicken as a new Alpha. But as a not-as-new alpha, when he saw the red hair again in highschool and his chest tightened, and his teeth ached, he knew it wasn’t just volleyball doing this too him.

Hinata wasn’t the first omega Kageyama had met, and for the most part Kageyama was able to function around them normally. Sometimes he was just so caught up in them that he came across as rude, but he noticed small things about them, or rather his instincts pushed him to notice the tiny details, as if he was scrutinizing them bit by bit. But whenever Hinata opened his mouth Kageyama was enraptured. It sucked that 90% of what Hinata said was random babblings, with 10% being about volleyball.

Keeping his calm around Hinata became even harder after watching his skill, and seeing their compatibility. No one else was able to match up with him, and suddenly there was this.. this being that fulfilled everything Kageyama wanted. But he was so damn oblivious!

Kageyama had been subtle for a while, before working up the courage to start courting him, whereas now he was just bold and up front about what he was doing, which was why it was so annoying Hinata hadn’t picked up on it. If he was treating Kageyamas actions as normal, was there other alphas who were doing similar things and he didn’t realize it? there better not be.

Sighing Kageyama sat back on the grass and nudged Hinatas leg, motioning for him to come close. He pulled him into his lap and leaned down, kissing his temple and sighing. Hinata hummed in satisfaction, burying his nose in Kageyamas neck, inhaling deeply.

“Im probably not going to be at school for a few days next week” Hinata mumbled into his shoulder. “my heats coming up again, so I can’t be out”

The news made Kageyama frowned. “Can’t you take suppressants? That’s what Tsukishima does”

“I tried that already” Hinata said and frowned. “They made me feel sick and they don’t work that well. I was in the nurses all day, they had me in one of the Heat Rooms remember?” he frowned at the memory. He never wanted to go to a Heat Room ever again. They were cold, scentless, and you spent the entire time in there alone. It was isolation hell, when all you wanted was to feel the touch of someone. Most of them didn’t even have enough pillows or blankets to make a proper Nest, which only added to the restless panic feelings.

Kageyama rubbed his back and nodded. He had heard about the Heat Rooms. He had never been inside one, as an Alpha, but he had seen pictures.

“would having a new blanket help?” he asked. “I mean I gave you that one a few weeks ago, it probably smells more of you than of me” he said. “I can bring a new one over on Saturday”

Hinata bit his lip and looked up at him, giving a small nod. “That would really help” he nodded.

Being wrapped in Kageyamas scent would drive a majority of his Heat dreams towards Kageyama, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. It may make things a bit awkward if Kageyama heard Hinata moaning out his name mid-heat, but it would be even worse if he found out the omega was thinking of someone else in that erotic moment.

“ill take the one you have now back to my place, and get it all.. scented up again for next months heat” he said. “but be sure to warn your mom im coming over. The last thing I need is for her to think I’ve come to rape you again” he groaned.

Hinata giggled and let out a small ‘oops’ at the mention of the incident.

He had asked Kageyama to bring over the worksheets from class, but failed to mention it to his mother, so when an alpha showed up at their door asking for Hinata, she assumed he was here to sex him up. It would have been an ordeal if Hinata wasn’t on his last day and was functional enough to explain the situation to his mom.

“You smelled great that day” Kageyama purred, earning himself a nudge. “What, im not wrong. You were in heat. Of course you were delicious” he kissed his head. “maybe if you start your heat before I come to swap blankets, you could roll yourself in it naked” he teased.

“So bold” Hinata mumbled, but quietly agreed.

Kageyama jolted suddenly, looking around them. Hinata didn’t know what happened, but he found out soon enough.

A group of boys, Betas mostly by their scent, were walking down the path through the forest. There seemed to be an alpha in the group, but they didn’t notice the pair. That didn’t stop Kageyama from clinging to Hinata protectively, preparing to act if need be.

Hinata rubbed his chest, and tried to draw his attention. “Tobio” he whispered when he wasn’t reacting to Kageyama.

The alphas face turned to him, still tense.

“What’s the matter? They weren’t coming towards us” the omega smiled. “there was only 1 alpha right? Was he that big of a rank jump?”

As if there wasn’t enough competition in in the world, Alphas had their own internal ranking system. It didn’t affect betas or omegas. Depending on wealth, power and family, an alphas rank would be higher or lower. The higher the alphas rank, the more they had power over other alphas, even if they were younger. But ranks could and did fluctuate.

Kageyama wasn’t a high rank. His mother was a single parent, and while alphas were given priority and privileges, not every alpha was equal.

“we should go” Kageyama said, standing up. “you shouldn’t be out this late anyways. Ill walk you home tonight” he said curtly

Hinata frowned. The romantic mood was gone, and Kageyama was stressed and agitated. Hinata tried to hold his hand but Kageyama took both bags instead. He was watching for others instead of paying attention to Hinata, and it made the walk home feel a bit lonely.

“are you coming to school tomorrow?” Kageyama asked, setting Hinatas bag down on the floor of the kitchen.

“I plan to” the omega said. “I don’t feel the same prickles I usually do the day before my heat” he said, looking at his fingertips. He would get tingles in his hands, it was a weird sensation and generally an uncomfortable one.

“okay, so ill meet you at the same location okay?” he turned to leave. He slid his shoes on, and opened the door.

“Kageyama wait!’ Hinata walked to the door and pecked his lips. “its late” he bit his lip. “I don’t want you walking home alone” he looked at clock in the kitchen, it was 10pm. “stay here, at least until my mom gets home from work” he said. She would be home around midnight. “Or sleep over.”

Kageyama blushed. “That’s not a good idea”

“Im not going to spontaneously burst into heat at 3 am” Hinata said, squeezing Kageyamas hand. “Ill be nervous the entire time your walking”

The alpha could feel the worry in his spikers voice, and felt the urge to cave in, to agree, to stay over. He wanted to, he wanted to have this omega in his arms, protected, safe, all night. He wanted that more than anything right now.

After a few moments of expectant silence, Kageyama let the front door close, and groaned as he slipped his shoes back off. “only until your mom gets home” he said. “And you’re going to bed” he watched the others face light up like a Christmas tree. He pulled out his phone and texted his mother, not like she would care when he was home.

“ill get you some clothes to wear, so you’re not in your uniform all night” Hinata said, having already take off his jacket. “come upstairs”

Hinatas room was messy, but it was very Hinata-like. In the corner was a stack of pillows, no doubt for the Nest when the Heats came. The walls had volleyball posters, and the bookshelf had numerous manga. Looking over Kageyama noticed a few titles. “You read Shoujo manga?” he asked, pulling a volume 5 from its place.

“Huh? Oh! That’s Natsus” he said, handing Kageyama a pair of shorts and t-shirt. “Her bookshelf was full and mine was.. empty. So she’s storing her manga here” he shrugged and put the book back in its place, stripping his own uniform shirt and pants to get changed.

Kageyama paused, watching as the omega undressed in front of him, his back to he alpha, his pure, pristine, unmarked skin taunting him.

“Is that.. a good idea” Kageyama asked, turning away from the sight.

Hinata tilted his head. “We get changed at practice, what’s different here?” he asked.

Kageyama wanted to punch the kid. The difference between stripping down in an omegas bedroom, while they were alone, and changing in a locker room with other teammates was immense, he wasn’t even sure how to explain it.

“Im going to get changed in the bathroom” Kageyama declared, leaving before Hinata could see the growing bulge in his pants.

 

Shrugging Hinata went back to getting changed, and crawled into bed, wrapping himself in the blanket he had received from his suitor. The brown fluffy blanket was so warm and comforting, it made him wish a bit that his heat would start and Kageyama would hold him.  


	7. Empty Touch Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyamas a bit busy, so hes not exactly being the alpha he needs to be, leaving disasterous consequences for Hinata

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really long, a 2 parter, follows the same rules as Bitten, but the two stories are separate.

Kageyama stared up at the screen, enraptured in the information presented to them. he scratched down the information in his notebook, not willing to miss a bullet point. He couldn’t risk it. he had to be prepared.

With diagrams, charts, and factoids, the omega class was an interesting, if not crucial class for the setter, who already had an omega he was courting. He couldn’t afford to be ignorant of omega health and what they go through. Omegas are biologically different from alphas and have different needs. It would be irresponsible to pretend otherwise.

Irresponsible described a majority of the students in the class at the moment. Both males and females were participating in the mandatory alpha-only course, and a few of the younger ones were spending the entire time giggling and making snarky comments every time there was mention of a body part.

“the skin on the back of an omegas neck is special in its chemistry with an alphas saliva” the teacher red from the slide, indicating the small gif that played a 3D rendering of a side-by-side of a transitioned skin and pre-transitioned skin.

A small crowd behind Tobio let out giggles, pointing at the images and making small mouths with their hands, attacking one another’s necks. It was aggravating and distracting, but Tobio had dealt with more annoying people. The teacher didn’t address the distraction, most likely refusing to give credence to the students.

“the skin alters post-presentation from regular skin to a more malleable type, which is intended to be easily marked. It doesn’t change much after the initial transition. While the skin is Mark-able pre-transition, without the proper nerves developed, the process would be more painful than pleasurable, and necessary Aftercare may not be completed.”

More giggled followed, the word ‘pleasure’ seeming to have tickled all of their funny bones. It was becoming more of a distraction the longer it continued. Tobio continued copying down the notes, willing the children to shut up.

It was only when the teacher mentioned the omegas ability to produce slick both during heat and when particularly aroused by an alpha, that Kageyama snapped.

The boys- nay, children- behind him continued chucking, with one whispering loud enough for everyone to hear “so they make great whores”

Tobio stood up quickly, his chair sliding back and slamming into the table behind him, starling the children into silence. He turned and glared at the boys, giving them his ‘smile’. The scary setters ‘smile’ was more unnerving than happy, the muscles not used to being activated. But in this case, the creepy eff3ect was what Kageyama was going for. They were interrupting the important information, information that he needed to successfully navigate this crazy adventure called life, information he needed to secure not only a life partner, but a future with any kind of happiness. And these children wanted to make jokes because hearing information about human body and sexuality was too awkward for them? They were al probably sporting a half chub under the desk after only looking at the outline diagram of the various reproduction organs in an omega.

“Can. You. shut up” Tobio asked, keeping his tone light and cheery, but his eyes-closed smile dripped with more menace than the children knew how to handle, and they promptly nodded.

Sitting back down, the setter exhaled and looked bac up at the board, going back to his writing. The temporary distraction had left Tobio with enough time to write down the remaining bullet points surrounding the biology of an omegas neck.

A lot of the information Tobio had already kind of known, as in he knew it applied to Hinata, but he wasn’t aware it was an omega thing. Hinatas neck had always been smoother on the back, and he did get scraped up pretty easily. The fact that the biology of Hinatas skin was different was new information. He just assumed Hinata was clumsy and reckless.

“Omegas Touch threshold is much lower than an alphas, who require only small amounts of Touch each day. Passive Touch such as touching someone to let them know you are behind them, or casual touch with sitting next to someone is often enough for an alpha, whereas intentional Touch is often required for an omega to stave of the Touch Starvation symptoms. Currently parents and siblings do the most part for young omegas, whose Touch threshold only begins to rise after presenting, but as an alpha who will one day have a mate, its very similar to owning a pet.”

A needy Hinata flashed through Kageyamas mind, complete with doggy ears and a tail, begging for attention, bouncing off the walls. Was that a Hinata thing or an omega thing?

“Not in the sense that they are helpless, or that they are property, but that the nee for attention is much higher. This is one of the reasons that allowances for partners are made, such as shared accommodations and better class coordination, to accommodate different partners rhythms”

No doubt Hinata would use that extra time to beg for passes instead of Touch. The Chibi was always being pet and Touched during practice. It had annoyed Kageyama for a little, he wanted to be the only one to run his fingers through Hinatas hair.

“Alphas in particular are naturally in tune with an omegas need for Touch, and will often subconsciously Touch any omega they meet, in innocent gestures, but none the less it is the subtle observation of the individual’s levels that prompt the alpha to act. Many alphas are unaware as to why they feel they must touch those around them, even in small ways. For claimed Omegas, often times foreign alphas are less inclined to offer Touch, mostly due to the heavy alpha scent that is attached to the omega. Scenting will be covered another day”

Kageyama smirked a little. Hinata wasn’t the only omega on the team, and he had never felt the urge to run his hands through Tsukushimas hair. The blonde beanpole wasn’t particularly needy, or not as overtly needy as Hinata. he didn’t react the same way when Suga pat his head or when Tanaka smacked his back after a good effort. You could almost forget the boy was an omega, if he wasn’t griping about the alpha courting him every 5 minutes.

Anyone could see that the complaining angered the pinch serer most of all, Yamaguchi. The boy had been trying o court the beanpole for the longest time, but he played almost as oblivious as Hinata. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago he revealed the Nekoma captain’s intentions.

Either way, he couldn’t picture Tsukishima curled up to someone’s side, purring as his back was rubbed or shining as his head was pat.

“all the same, while caring for your omega is a fulltime job, its not a one-sided ordeal. The omegas are a gender that thrives off of relationships. They excel in positions of nurturing, such as nurses, daycare workers, mothers, just to name a few. The stereotypical omegas roles are in place because that is the biological drive that an omega is born with, so naturally, caring for their alpha would be part of that spectrum. Its up to you to set boundaries as to what is and isn’t acceptable in the partnership, taking into account your omegas needs. If you have an exceptionally needy omega, with a stronger than average mothering instinct, then setting boundaries such as no PDA or physical contact out in public, then that may not be a sustainable plan for that omega who may need small constant touch throughout the day before a large dose of Touch in private.”

Kageyama was only thinking about Hinata. The redhead wasn’t particularly needy, but he was pretty easy to read when he started to turn towards Starvation. The cues were obvious, from the slowed energy levels, to a disheartened look, to even Hinata not bugging the team for more practice time. The team was pretty knowledgeable on the signals and were quick to take action when they were spotted. A Stared Hinata was not in the best condition to practice.

Creating a plan that balanced Hinatas Touch threshold would be fairly easy, assuming things went as planned. It couldn’t be planned down to the tee, because what if there was an unforeseen incident? That would leave both alpha and omega in a lurch.

“the same could be said for the inverse. An omega who has a low drive for mothering or high threshold for Touch, a plan that required constant touch may prove overwhelming for them, and taxing on their bodies. Being overstimulated carries almost the same risks as being under stimulated. Both affect the mood, the ability for them to follow the boundaries of the partnership and your overall relationship.”

Had Tsukishima been given boundaries? with his long-distance courtship going on? Or as it strictly an online courtship. What was he doing. He had to think about Hinata, not the beanpole.

“Heats in particular are a sensitive time for both alpha and omega when it comes to Touch. While an omega wont fall into Touch Starvation if neglected, a complete isolation during this time, especially for the younger ones, can affect how the omega reacts to their alpha once they decide to share that time.

To maintain the same level of intimacy, many alphas will opt to stay around their omega, even if they aren’t indulging in the omegas desires. Many do this out of instinctual feelings, the need to protect, wile man also remain as support, feeding, bathing, essentially playing the role of a nurse. Its recommended that alphas who want to take this active role take scent blockers to be less affected by the omegas scent. Its not a rare occurrence by any means, but this also poses a risk of the Alpha losing control and-“

“they bone” one boy piped up, earning another glare from the setter.

“Yes” the teacher continued. “to be blunt, an alpha falling into the influence of an omegas heat is not a strange concept by any stretch of the mind, so for the most part, self control is a key ingredient in the relationship between an alpha and omega. If beforehand the two of you decide to abstain that cycle, and you go ahead and have your way with them, their mouths may be saying yes in that moment, but listening to them and their wants pre-heat are important s well, especially when it comes to courting, and the ability for an omega to trust their alpha.”

“would every omega eventually change their mind during their het when it come to sex?” Tobio asked, raising his hand.

“yes” the teacher said, flipping to the next slide, with a bar graph with the information titled ‘yes-yes no-no yes-no no-yes’ with drastically differing sized bars. “almost every omega  interviewed had admitted to giving consent mid-heat. As of right now, that consent is still admissible, even if not totally ethical”

“So they want it” a boy in the back said. “they don’t know they want it, but they all want it”

“it’s a matter of the mind vs the body” the teacher stated. “The mind gives the first answer, while the body gives the second. And more often than not, the body overwhelms the mind and the consent is given”

“But you don’t have to accept it” Tobio said, making a note.

While Hinata had yet to go in heat around him, Tobio had smelled Hinatas clothes one time, remnants from his latest heat, and the possibility of him rejecting the delicious fruit when placed in front of him was slim to non.

“Is pregnancy a certainty when having sex with an omega in heat?” Tobio asked, raising his hand again.

“96% of pregnancies ae conceived during a heat” the teacher spoke. “so, if you gave an omega in mind, there is contraceptives available, both physical and medical, for both the omega and the alpha”

“Are you going to hand out condoms now?” a boy in the back piped up. Tobio didn’t scold him, because he was interested in the answer. Being provided a contraceptive would be a good icebreaker he could use to ask Hinata and confirm some of this information with him.

“at the end of class” the teacher said, pointing to a small box on his desk. “now, who understands what a Nest is why it is important?”

~

“Toooooobio!” a voice ran past the setter, around him and rammed into his side, knocking him over a pace. The red head attached to it beamed up at the sour faced setter, the smile dropping almost instantly as the atmosphere hit his nose. Tobio was annoyed.

“what’s wrong?” he frowned, looking up at the setter, walking backwards in order to stand in front of him.

“Nothing” the setter reached forwards and touched Hinatas cheek, watching him lean his face into the small comfort. “just stupid kids in the class” he said, looking down at the phone on his courted partners face. “they just annoyed me is all. They didn’t take it seriously, when I trying to take notes”

The eventual confession as well as the Touch served to sooth Hinatas fears. “you were taking notes?”

“of course, I was” Kageyama said. “I have to know what im learning, and confirming it with you, an omega, is one way of self study. Immersive learning” he said, continuing to walk to the gym, where the entire team was waiting at this point.

“Gomen” Tobio murmured and scuttled to the clubroom to change, followed by the omega. He couldn’t wait to start smacking the balls around, taking his frustration out on the court.

Hinata hummed as he stripped, pulling his gym clothes form his bag. He jumped when he felt something touch his neck and turned to see the alpha leaning over him, his finger extended.

“Sorry, I just wanna touch your neck” he said, pausing to receive further consent. He was met with an odd look, but Hinata did turn back and tilt his head forwards to allow access.

Tobio slid his blunt fingernail down the skin on the back of his neck, watching a thin red line follow even though he barely used any pressure. “does this hurt?” he asked, and moved to see Hinata blushing.

“It tickles!” the omega laughed, rubbing the skin and moving away, grabbing his shirt. “I can still feel it!” he pulled the shirt over his head, the fluffy orange hairs popping back out in their messy fashion. “what did you do that for?” he moved to Tobio, reaching to run a finger down the back of the setter’s neck, but found his wrist grabbed.

“just something they said in class” he said, letting go of Hinatas wrist and smiling softly. He hadn’t meant to grab the wrist, but he reacted when he felt something close to his neck. It was kind of a double standard, but just like an omegas neck was a good sensitive, alphas were a bad sensitive. He had ‘fond’ memories of his father gripping the front of his collar and tugging him, cutting his shirt into the back of his neck.

Hinata nodded, pausing like he was going to drop it. Kageyama was a bit concerned that Hinata was going to be upset, but the boy bounced back with another question. “what did they say about ne neck in class?”

“they said the skin changes after you present” Kageyama answered. Hinata would keep bugging him until he answered. “Its easy to mark now, that’s why you always have bruises” he pushed a fist into Hinatas shoulder. “Its all in my notes. Ill show you them tonight after practice” he promised. “so get ready or I won’t throw you any tosses”

“Tobio!!!” the Chibi whined, moving fast as he slid his shorts on and scrambled to find his shoes, sliding them on the wrong feet first before getting them right.

“ready!”

~

“so, when is Kageyama going to come inside?” Hinatas mother asked, setting the leftover dinner on the table in front of her son, still bounding with energy. She had hoped that the late night practices would tire him out more, but it seemed his new walking home buddy was reenergizing him on the way.

Hinata pounced on the food, stuffing his face before swallowing and blushing. “he said he has to get home after practices.” He explained. “He doesn’t have the time to come in and hang out mom”

“he doesn’t have to just hang out” she said, looking dejected. “id make him a portion of dinner as well. Besides, I want to meet him more, if he's courting my son. I have to make sure he's not a horrible alpha”

“Mom!” Hinata laughed, knowing that Tobio was an acquired taste. The alpha wasn’t great at first impressions, and knowing his overprotective mother, she would jump to conclusions, or ask too many questions and make Kageyama nervous until he said something wrong. So he didn’t want to push the alpha when he wasn’t comfortable with the hole family yet.

“maybe ill be outside the next time he drops you off. I've seen you from the window you know.” she teased. “Goodnight kisses and Touch” he eyes gleamed.

“Mom!!” Hinata covered his chest, protecting his innocence. He didn’t know his mother was a pervert like that. Maybe Kageyama and him would have to say goodbye around the corner then, instead of at the door.

“Oh poor Natsu, almost walking in on her brother being defiled, right on our doorstep” she put her hand to her forehead dramatically.  “how will she ever cope”

“moooooom stoooop!” he laughed, giving her an affectionate shove. “Tobio will come by when he wants to. He's like a cat. You can’t force him.” he said. “Course, maybe, if there’s a treat, but you can’t force him”

“are you claiming to be a treat? When he has a taste every night?” she teased, half slut-shaming her own son.

Jaw dropping, Hinata laughed and blushed simultaneously covering his cheeks and standing up. “Im going to have a bath” he said.

“you’ve gotta smell night for your alpha huh?” she called up the stairs, clearing the plates from the table as the bathroom door slammed.

Her son’s recent courtship was not news to the mother. She had been able to figure it out pretty much from the start. Who brings over a whole blanket as a gift, opened, and unwashed? An alpha who wants to share their scent, that’s who. The gifts following were smaller, jackets, plushies, she could even tell there was a hairband or something that was scented like the alpha. It was cute.

Her own courtship wasn’t nearly as adorable. Her parents had insisted on everything being by the book, meaning no alone time for a year, to test the compatibility and to prevent them from doing anything rash. It had been a long, painful wait, and she didn’t have any intention of putting Hinata through that. If he wanted this boy to be his alpha, and if this alpha would have him, she would give them her blessing. Of course she wanted to meet the boy first and suss out any underlying motivations. Sometimes Hinata was just too trusting for his own good sometimes, and most times he was more unobservant than he should be. He was going to get himself hurt one day.

Finishing the dishes, she checked the schedule for the next day. Hinata had a practice match in a week, and needed a bigger lunch that day. Maybe this was a good opportunity for her to show him how to make bento lunches. He could make one for his alpha. That was a cute romantic gesture, or it would be If it turned out well. So far Hinatas attempts at cooking had led to an overstuffed rice cooker and 7 calls to the fire department to explain the burnt food.

Maybe Tobio would be the chef in their partnership.

Or they’ll just stare to death.

Chuckling, she examined the calendar, the red dot on the Saturday catching her attention. “Its coming up soon too” she whispered, sighing a little bit. The red dots signified the most stressful days of the month, the days of the worst laundry situations. The red dots signified the predicted days of her sons Heats.

As a beta, the scent didn’t affect her, but the resulting mess sure did. Airing out the house and washing the bedsheets were a monthly chore that she didn’t enjoy. She would catch prowlers outside, drawn in by the scent, but eventually chased away. Natsu was unaffected as of yet, and was a great help when it came to taking care of her brother.

Sometimes she had half a mind to have Shoyos alpha over to help take care of him, with supervision of course. She may be okay with them choosing one another, but the actual Marking would have to wait until after graduation. The post-Mark adjustments were too much to handle at the moment. And maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t ready to let go of her little boy yet.

~

“Shoyooooo!’ Nishinoya bounded over, landing next to the omega with a thud, louder than his small body should make. “how’s the lover?” he leaned close, rubbing his side up against the omega.

“he's not my lover” Hinata sputtered, looking over at his friend. “all we do is kiss”

“Do you want to do more?” he asked, putting his hands behind his head, humming. “All you have to do is ask, Kageyama will be raring to go!”

Wanting to change the subject, Hinata exhaled. “How’s Asahi? Is he still too sensitive?” the Ace of the Karasuno volleyball team, and Nishinoyas Omega, was having a hard time adjusting to being Marked.

Already a third year, the Miniature Alpha wasn’t willing to let his partner into the big wide world unprotected.  The feeble giant was almost as clueless as Hinata, but was twice as shy and accommodating. He would be kidnapped and sold to a Madame if someone asked politely. Nishinoya wasn’t willing to let that happen.

“Its been 3 weeks and he says it still hurts. I've tried everything Shoyo, from licking, to kissing, to sacrificing a goat to Buddha!” he let out an exasperated sigh.

“maybe you have to do the aftercare stuff. The teachers said that was important”

“I did! I think. I licked it, we sat and cuddled for a while until Asahi felt better”

“maybe he had to adjust. Maybe having a heat will help eventually” he shrugged, looking to his friend as they arrived at his classroom, Kageyama waiting inside for him. “Ill ask Tobio for you if you want”

“really!” Noya smiled. “maybe Tsukki knows too. he's book smart isn’t he?”

Hinata nodded and looked into the classroom, smiling at his courting partner. The black shiny hair, the strong shoulders, the look of utter inanity on his face as he completed last nights English homework.

“See you at practice Shoyo!” the alpha called out, running to his own classroom before the bell could ring. If he was late one more time then he would have an after-school detention!

Hinata waved and walked into the room, sitting in his usual desk, watching Kageyama next to him scribble furiously. He let out a small yawn, and rested his head on his arms, watching the lines on the alphas face lessen and deepen with each question. That was going to be the forehead he spends the rest of his life with.

He couldn’t help but smile a little as he watched the alpha struggle. He had never seen him sweat so much outside of practice, but English was always his worst subject.

“Tobio” he whispered, tapping the edge of his desk. It took a moment but after the third prompt the alpha tore his eyes up from the paper and looked up at Hinata.

Meeting his gaze made Hinata blush a bit, and he didn’t speak for a moment. “um-uh- do you wanna stay for dinner tonight? Moms been bugging me, so I wanna ask” he said. “you don’t have to if you don’t want to”

Tobios forehead wrinkles deepened and he grimaced. “I mean.. I suppose I should introduce myself” he said, letting out a small sigh. “I mean im courting you. if your mom didn’t want to meet me that would be a cause for concern”

Hinata tilted his head, waiting for Kageyama to come to a conclusion. It was pretty interesting to see the ‘king of the court’ looking so conflicted and nervous. Hinata would have chuckled if the sight didn’t worry him too. he didn’t want Kageyama to feel uncomfortable.

“you don’t have to if you don’t want to” Hinata reached over and took his hand, feeling the familiar tingle at the contact. “my mom just wants to suggest it” he gave Kageyama another squeeze, just as the teacher walked in.

Kageyama nodded as Hinata pulled his hand away, silently whimpering at the loss of contact. Usually in the morning he would get a kiss or something, something to boost him up a bit, but Kageyama seemed overwhelmed this morning.. he wouldn’t push him.

~

The next few days Kageyama seemed distant. Yes, he walked Hinata home every night still. Yes, he still indulged Hinatas requests for more tosses. Yes, he still made sure to give Hinata the Touch he needed throughout the day, giving him soft kisses and rubbing his back when needed, but it felt hollow; like he was going through the motions with his mind elsewhere.

“Tobio” he whispered, trying to get the alphas attention in homeroom, but the alpha was reading something on his phone. “Tobio, quick!” he tapped him, but the eyes never left the screen, the text flying across the screen.

It wasn’t until the homeroom teacher stood in front of the desk and cleared his throat that Kageyama snapped out of it and blinked.

“Your cellphone, Kageyama-kun” the male said, holding out his phone.

Tobio looked between the teacher and the phone, his eyes widening in realization. “Oh- oh crap. Sorry. Ill put it away. Im sor-“

“ill keep it safe, don’t you worry” The teacher persisted, not willing to let the student overrule the class consequence just because he was an alpha.

“I need it” he defended. “Ill put it away, I just-“

“You can get it at the end of the day” The teacher persisted, and reached for the device.

Tobios grit his teeth as the phone was plucked form his hand, his face twisted in anger. “that’s not fair! I was just looking something up!”

The outburst silenced the class, and all eyes were on the setter, who wasn’t in control of this court.

“was it something related to this class?”

“It was related to another class”

“Which class” the teacher asked, opening the phone to check the search history.

“Don’t!” Kageyama stood up, reaching for his phone before the teacher could reveal the search terms. The device was pulled out of reach and the teacher raised an eyebrow.

“domestic violence around omegas?” the teacher read aloud, “and which class is this for, may I ask” the tone dripping with condescension. “if you want to make a good impression, how about you save your personal life for your personal time” he said, pocketing the phone and heading to the front of the class.

“Its for the omega class he has!” Hinata stood up, answering the unanswered question. “so just give him back his phone” he looked over at Kageyama, a look of anger and embarrassment plastered over his face.

“just forget it Hinata” Tobio said, dropping into his chair, pulling out his workbook.

Hinatas brow knitted, it had been a while since the alpha had called him Hinata. They agreed to use one another’s first names..

The class held its silence has Hinata stood there, not sure if he should continue to fight Tobios fight, or give up like he was told. But it wasn’t fair..

“Its stuff for school..” Hinata said, looking up at the teacher, his voice barely audible. “just give it back..” he looked between Tobio and the teacher,

“Baka, just drop it” Kageyama snapped at the boy, the words hitting him like a rubber band across the face, stinging the whole time.

“o-oh.. okay” Hinata looked around suddenly feeling a flare of embarrassment surge up his chest, heating him uncomfortably. He sunk back down into his seat, pulling out his own notebook.

it was almost impossible to focus on the material. Hinata didn’t know what he did wrong.. the teacher was the one in the wrong, not Tobio! Why would.. why would Tobio get mad at him.. he was just trying to help..

looking over at the setter, it was almost like nothing had happened. The upset expression was gone, an he was writing his notes, meanwhile Hinatas pages lay blank. He hadn’t even pulled out his pen.

His stomach hurt, and raising his hand, Hinata asked to be excused to the nurse’s office. One of the other students offered to walk him, it wasn’t Kageyama, but even if it had been.. Hinata would have declined. He moved away before the other student could approach him, his eyes flicking over to Kageyama. He hadn’t even looked up from his book..

“Im fine” Hinata smiled, his arm wrapped around his stomach, which felt like it was trying to turn itself inside out, taking half of his body with it.

Eyes heavy Hinata made his way to the nurse’s office, collapsing onto one of the beds, closing his eyes and taking a breath. The air filled his chest but breathing wa still hard. He undid his school shirt, opening his chest to the open air, but it still didn’t help. It was a struggle to breath. His eyes felt heavy, his body felt slow, he felt insane.

Curling into a ball, Hinata pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around them to pull them closer. He couldn’t breathe anyways, he may as well comfort himself.

he couldn’t get Kageyama out of his mind. What was wrong with him. Why wouldn’t he tell him? Why wouldn’t he let him help? Why would he use his last name.. and the distance that had been  between them.. was it all just.. gone? Would Kageyama want his jackets back? His blankets? Was this it? why? What went wrong..

~

Onii-chan!” a coo called out, and a body jumped on Hinata, forcing him out of the safe slumber land he had fallen into. It had felt like seconds but it had been hours, with Hinata picking up a speedy fever. His mother had been called, and had just arrived, Natsu in tow.

“Hey beauty’ Hinata cooed, his voice scratchy and dry. “im fine” Hinata looked up at his mother, seeing the worry on her face, but he didn’t think she believed him.

“I was just tired” he flinched as Natsu moved to crawl under the covers with him.

Natsu frowned at the reaction and looked up at her brother. The bed dipped as his mother sat on the edge of the bed and reached for her son’s arm. “Then why are you Touch Starved” she said with a sigh, letting Hinata pull the arm away.

The past few days, they had been so busy. With Natsus school trip and Hinata staying out later to practice for the practice match.. she hadn’t had much 1 on 1 time with him. in the morning he had been tired looking, sure. He was awake earlier than usual. But she still should have noticed the changes in him.

“How many days has it been?” she asked. “is Tobio absent from school? What about your team?” he pressed her hand to his forehead, ignoring his groans at the contact.

“mom stop” he rolled to face away from her. “he's not absent. Nothing changed. Its been the same amount” and it had. He hadn’t not been letting people Touch him. Sure Tobio.. maybe his Touches felt a little.. empty, but the Touch from his teammates was the same.

Confused, Hinatas mom stood up and asked for the nurse, speaking to her for a little. Hinata could hear her through the curtain. “Fever… Starving…Heat….Home…” his head hurt too much to try and hear everything.

Hinata was drifting back to sleep when the curtain was pulled back again, and his mother tapped him. “Come on. Let’s get you home” she seemed much calmer, less.. worried. Was it for his benefit? Or had she given up on her witch hunt? He really was just tired..

“Natsu are you going to cuddle with Onii-chan when you get home?” his mother asked, causing the little girl to giggle and nod, taking one of Hinatas hands in his own, while a majority of this weight was supported by his mother.

“but.. I have practice” Hinata whined as they passed the gym. “the game.. I can’t not go.. Tobio…” he looked back, feeling his head spin at the small movement.

“One practice won’t kill you” his mother scolded, holding him tighter as he teetered. “he will understand”

Hinata sniffled. What if he didn’t. What if Tobio was done with him. After the thing in the classroom, after pulling away the past few days.. after .. did he come see him at all n the nurse’s office.. was he even worried? Or was he over him..

The idea that Tobio could be abandoning him put a gaping hole in Hinatas chest. He crawled into the back seat of the car and pulled his knees to his chest again. The car doors closed and the ignition fired.

Had he really slept all day? Everyone was going to be so mad at him. they wouldn’t forgive him. this was a big practice game, if he wasn’t there.. then there were so many plays they worked hard for nothing.

He really wanted to play..

Gripping the car seat under him, Hinata swallowed down the pleas and brought up a question he had asked himself. “Did Tobio come to see me in the nurses?” he asked his mother, watching her expression. It was a sad one. So it was a no.

“Im sorry, I didn’t ask” She said, smiling at him in the rear-view mirror. “im sure he did though. Don’t worry babe”

Tobio didn’t visit.

Clutching his stomach, Hinata felt the tears prickling his eyes, springing up for the hole in his chest.

~

The entire team was there, ready. They had plays to run, they had drills to practice, they had conditioning to continue. They had a game in 2 days, they needed to be prepared. They were calling in early practices and staying later, to prepare for the practice game. Nekoma was travelling in for the game, partially thanks to Tsukishima. They couldn’t let this opportunity slip from their fingers.

But where the hell were Hinata and Kageyama?

Moments after starting drills, Kageyama wandered into the gym, his face buried in his phone.

Daichi told everyone to continue drills, and went over to confront the truant player. “where the hell have you been?” the captain scolded, looking at the alpha with skepticism. “and where’s Hinata?”

“nurse, I think” he said, looking back down at his phone.

“Is he okay?” Daichi asked, shocked that Kageyama was both so calm, and even in the gym. If the alpha wanted to be with his partner, that was understandable. Daichi wouldn’t stop him.

Tobio shrugged. “I didn’t go” he said, scowling at his phone. The information he was getting was garbage. None of it was helpful.

Daichis outburst had drawn the attention of the teammates, and the drills had effectively stopped, everyone gathering to hear the story.

“I heard he went to the nurses in the morning.” Yamaguchi said, looking up at Tsuki. “Could it be his heat?”

“I hope not!” Daichi groaned, pushing his hair back. “Kageyama, you honestly didn’t even go check on him?”

“What!” Noya roared. “you didn’t go to Shoyo?! You left him all alone?” he took a step closer to beat him, but was stopped by Daichi. “Noya, Tanaka, you guys run practice with Suga. Tsuki and I will go see Shoyo” he said, and looked over at Kageyama, who hadn’t put up an argument about another alpha checking up on his omega.

“What s wrong with you” he muttered, half out of concern for the team, the other, pity for Shoyo. He should have listened to Suga when he commented on the two appearing strange the past few days. They were hitting their balls, if anything they were more in sync, they were just quieter.. but now this happens..

“Fuck” the captain groaned, opening the door to the nurse’s office.

~

“he's gone home. Great” Tsukishima sighed, closing the door and looking over at his captain. “I guess as the resident omega its my job to go see what’s up?” he asked, the enthusiasm drained from the statement.

With only two omegas on the team, most omega related activities fell on Tsukishima, as the responsible one. The first year didn’t take time off of school for his heats. He had begun taking suppressants early on, because he found the heats to be too inconvenient. Hinata on the other hand, was a walking ball of pheromones, but his heats were fairly regular, which was why this weekend was the perfect timing for the match. Both teams had a full roster.. or they did.

“If you wouldn’t mind” Daichi pushed his hair back with a sigh. What was going on with his team. “let him know… if he has to miss the game its okay. I mean its not, but don’t tell him that. He will end up pushing himself, and it’ll only hurt him in the long run” it would be better to have a healthy Hinata in a few days as opposed to a sick Hinata missing plays.

“gotcha” the blocker said, clicking his tongue. “leave it to the decoy to mess up my weekend”

~

Almost an hour passes. The team continued running drills, practicing the plays that don’t require Hinata. Sugawara was taking a more active role, because it looked like Kageyama was out of sorts. The Alpha was slow and unfocussed, almost like he was the sick one.

Stealthily Tanaka had gone over and given Kageyama a little Touch, noting the reaction, or lack there of. They could rule out being Touch starved, but then what was on his mind. Prying his phone away from him had been hard enough after Tsukishima had left.

The sound of  ringtone filled the gym and Daichi reached for the device, answering it. He nodded a few times, taking in the caller’s information, and let out a small sigh of relief before hanging up.

“Guys” he called the team to the bench, and handed Kageyama back his phone. “Practice is cancelled. He looked to Kageyama whose face was in his phone. He reminded him of the Nekoma setter “if you have to go home, go. If not, I have another activity planned”  he watched the team start chattering amongst themselves.

“If you’re free, get changed and meet me by the front gate” he said, looking to Sugawara. He wanted to talk to him, to explain.

The players waited around for a moment before slowly breaking off and packing up the items in the gym, and heading off to the clubroom. Everyone was pretty quiet, more confused than anything.

As things were wrapping up, Suga approached his partner, his hand rubbing his neck softly, feeling the ridges of the Mark. “So wats this activity?” the setter asked.

“Tsukishima said that Hinata looks Touch Starved, so we have to go over there and help. Clearly the Alpha responsible isn’t interested” he looked over at Kageyama, not helping, but standing against the wall with his phone in hand.

Suga followed his gaze and frowned. “Okay maybe Kageyamas been weird, but the Touch Hinatas been getting in practice has been fairly consistent” he said, feeling a twang of guilt.

“apparently Hinatas mother thinks that Hinatas threshold might have been higher because his heats getting closer” Daichi signed. “Either way, it can’t hurt for us to go over. He's one of us, and he needs us right now.”

“Are we bringing Kageyama?”

“no. that’s why I didn’t announce it. Hinata may have a higher expectation of what Kageyama can offer right now. Its better to be disappointed at the beginning, than constantly disappointed” he said.

Suga nodded, leaning on his partners side.

The two had been Marked partners for just under a year. While the two originally didn’t plan on taking the step until after college, the possibility of the Sugawara family moving pushed their timeline. Daichi wasn’t willing to let go of his best friend, his perfect mate. the move ended up being cancelled the day before Daichi placed his Mark, but the two still moved in together, or Suga had moved in with Daichi, sharing his room in his parent’s house, not that either family were thrilled at the sudden decision.

As everyone else cleaned up, Daichi leaned down, planting a kiss on his mates lips, letting it linger for a few moments. In the stress of the practice he realized he hadn’t exactly been following up with Sugas Touch rhythm. Although as a Beta he didn’t need nearly as much Touch as Hinata, Suga himself was twice as likely to hide the symptoms of Starvation if he thought he would get in the way.

The captain couple seemed to catch Nishinoyas eye, who had run up to his own Marked partner and plant a kiss on him as well, receiving a highfive from Tanaka.

Shortly after, everyone gathered at the front gate, sans Ennoshita, Kageyama, and Hinata and Tsukishima. Daichi hadn’t really expected Kageyama to show up, but a small part of the alpha inside him was angry at him for abandoning his omega. If there was any redemption left for the first year, he had better be on his way to Hinatas on his own.

“so where are we going boss?” Noya piped up, looking over at Asahi and taking his hand. The Ace still had a bandage over his Mark, but settled into the held hand a bit.

“Were going to see Hinata-“

“Shoyos house!”

“yes, Nishinoya” the captain sighed. “he's touch starved according to Tsukishima, so to help him recover we are going to go by and spend a few hours with him” he said. “just, don’t bring up the game, or Kageyama. We all noticed his off behaviour, and reminders of his absence may affect Hinata.

Small murmurs erupted before the resident loudmouth piped up again. “so Kageyama isn’t coming? Do you know why he's been weird?”

Diachi shook his head. “he hasn’t said anything, but I will be looking into having a conversation with him”

~

“Shoyo?” a soft voice poked into the room, the door creaking open. Hinata lay on his side, his knees curled up to his chest, his eyes red. He flinched as the light was turned on, and pulled the blanket over his head. “you have visitor”

Hinata almost jumped up, convinced it was Kageyama. But.. why would it be him.. and if it was, he probably wanted his things back. either way, there was no reason for him to greet them.

“I guess a shrimp has no use for a big room” the crude voice came through, shattering the possibility it could be Kageyama.

“Go away Tsukki” Hinata whined. “im tired.”

“I don’t believe you” the voice said, and the covers were pulled off, exposing Hinata to the light.

The small body, naked save for the frog patterned boxers, lay curled on the covers. His chest still hurt, his stomach still hurt. Everything hurt.

He could feel Tsukishima touching his side, and each time he pulled away. “Don’t touch me” he almost yelled , reaching for the blanket once more.

“Are you touch starved then? The omega asked, reaching to grip Hinatas waist, holding him down as he crawled on top of him, sitting on his stomach. “im missing practice because you’re sick, so just answer my questions” he said. “When was the last time Kageyama gave you Touch”

Hinata squirmed underneath the blonde, not wanting the body pressed to his.

“yesterday” Hinata said. “and the day before and the day before! Im just tired!”

Tears sprung to his eyes. Why didn’t anyone believe him. why was everyone villainizing Kageyama. He was going to hate him even more because everyone was going to blame him. Hinata never said he was touch starved!

Tsukishima let go of Hinatas hands, but didn’t move off of him. “why are you upset right now?” he asked.

“Because you won’t get off me!”

“No, like what’s the real reason” Tsukishima asked. “are you sad, do you feel lonely? Are you angry for no reason?”

His expression contorted a little bit, but enough for Tsukishima to pick up on it. “You’re lonely” he verbalized. “because you haven’t had enough Touch.” He started but scowled when he was being interrupted. “your stupid alpha has been pretty brainless the past few days right? Do you think Touch is just when someone puts their hands on you?” he asked. “idiot” he sighed and left the room for a moment, and returned after sending a message.

“Just going through the motions wont work” he sat on the edge of the bed. “so Kings lackluster Touch is probably doing more harm than good” he explained, hoping it would make Hinata feel better, or at least explain it so he stopped denying it.

But it just made things worse. Now Kageyama couldn’t even be bothered to Touch him.. everything really was over wasn’t it..

“how.. how are things going with Kuroo?” he asked, looking up at the omega.

“its okay” he answered with a shrug. “its not love, but its not lust either. At least on my part. He sent me a picture the other day, of me, and he had zoomed in on my butt, with the title ‘can’t wait until Friday’” he said. “Like he thinks were gunna have sex or something”

“Would you?” Hinata asked, pulling the blankets back over his body.

“and where, pray tell would you recommend we go? My house? With my brother and parents?” he asked sarcastically. “id rather have just him come down, for the express purpose of having a weekend together. Not when he's surrounded by all his friends he can joke around with the next morning” he said, his tone sprinkled with experience.

“did you sleep with Yamaguchi?”

Tsukishima choked on air. “no! God no. why would you even ask that?”

Hinata shrugged. “he was courting you for a while wasn’t he?”

“When? No” he said, standing up and rolling his eyes. “Tadashi and I are only friends”

“well I think he likes you”

“Shut up. It took you how many months to realize you were being courted”

Hinata frowned, pulling the blanket a bit tighter to his body. “im an idiot, I know” he said, which was pretty out of character for the literal sunshine of Karasuno. “ill notice quicker this time” he said softer. It had only taken him 4 days to realize Kageyama was done with him. that’s a pretty big improvement wasn’t it?

~

Footsteps piled into the house, some heavier and quicker than the others. The steps came up the stairs, slamming the door open, with Nishinoya between the frame.

“Shoyo!” he smiled, and looked back to see Asahi apologizing to the mom of the house.

“Hey Tsukishima” Suga smiled behind Noya, sliding between him to take Tsukishimas post. “go get a drink or something. I've got this” he let him escape, knowing Tsukishima wasn’t exactly a fan of being surrounded by alphas. His Touch threshold was pretty high for an omega, so overstimulation was the main concern with this omega.

Despite his complete opposite nature of Hinata, he was often the first to jump to his defence or aid. He was also the first to snipe him if he was being stupid.

The blonde snuck out as more teammates piled into the room, and found Daichi downstairs with Hinatas mother.

“Thank you again, for accommodating us” he said and smiled at Tsukishima. “all of us”

Hinatas mother nodded. “I didn’t think everyone would stop their practice and come over” she said. “I would have prepared dinner” she turned and looked at what she had in the fridge. “If I make curry-“

“its okay, honestly. I don’t think any of the guys will want to take a break to eat. Not until Hinata is better” he turned to speak to Tsukishima.

“did he say anything?” the alpha asked.

“Its all Kings fault” he scoffed. “its Empty Touch. Its..” he struggled to find the words to express how it felt. “it’s a different feeling from being Touch Starved. Its like you’re getting Touch, there’s just no.. substance to it. You think your okay. But you’re not” he sighed. “I don’t know if that means that he's done courting him or what, but Kageyama isn’t doing what he needs to, and if he isn’t going to, then the teams going to have to step up the Touch during practice. Essentially pretend that Kageyama isn’t there”

Daichi nodded, touching Tsukkis shoulder. “Thank you” he said and moved his hand, “okay, you can go home if you want” he said.

“Oh!” the woman behind them piped up, grimacing when she realized she was interrupting, even if it was intentional. “If you’re not going upstairs, do you want dinner? Im going to make the curry for the team, for when everyone is ready for food” she said and nodded at Daichi. “I could use another hand in the kitchen. If you don’t mind”

Tsukishima shrugged and walked towards the kitchen, pulling out his phone when it vibrated, sending off a quick reply and pocketing his phone again.

Satisfied, Daichi headed upstairs to find the room absolutely packed, bodies moving every which way. Suga was trying to get people to stop moving, but with Noya trying to lead the pack, Asahi trying to calm him down, Tanaka spouting about Noya stepping on him and Yamaguchi trying to get away from the drama by crawling onto Hinatas bed, Daichis mate had a hard time coping.

“Guys!” Daichis voice boomed, stilling the team for a moment. Noya was the first to resume, trying to bring the pillows set up for Hinatas nest into the center of the room so they could all lay down.

“Tts a stupid idea!” Tanaka said, pushing the pillows back into the corner. “If we make a nest he's going to go into heat!”

“That’s not how that works Tanaka” Asahi said, rubbing the back of hi head. “it’s a little more complica-“

“Lets just crawl onto the bed then” Noya decided, letting go of the pillows and running to the bed, crawling on top of it with Yamaguchi. The first year panicked, jumping off of the bed not wanting to be crushed.

“Guys!” Daichi called again, stepping into the room. “Seriously stop. Calm down. Do not crush our teammate. Get off the bed, stand still, please!” he watched each player as the moved to a single file line, and sat on the ground.

“good, now calm down, let’s not traumatize everyone before we even say hello”

Suga was already on the bed, running his fingers through Hinatas hair. The decoy was awake, curled into a ball, and obviously upset. They were too noisy weren’t they.

“Hey Shoyo” Daichi crouched down, adding his hand to the count on his body. “We all came to see you. im sorry they were too loud. You know them, they just really care about you” he smiled softly, expecting that the smile to spread to Hinatas face, but the frown remained. Daichi had almost never seen Hinata not smiling. He was either beaming with happiness or seriously in the zone, or arguing with Kageyama.

The tears dotted the bottom of his eyes, dripping down the side of his face. He whimpered when the tear from one eye slid into his other eye. The red covered his face, or what Daichi could see between the blanket and his hair.

“Can you sit up?” Suga asked, moving his hand down to wipe the tears away. Hinata shook his head.

“My stomach hurts. I don’t want to sit up” he frowned, his voice raspy.

“because you need Touch” Daichi said, moving to pull the blankets back. He looked around the room, and noticed the pillows Noya had been grabbing for. “Can we use your pillows?” Daichi asked Hinata, but the omega shook his head.

“you don’t need to be here, you have a practice to do” he said, more upset that they left practice to come here. “Don’t stop practicing because of me”

“Sho-“ Noya started, but stopped moving when Daichi looked at him. he only stopped for a moment before rushing to Hinatas side, running his hands over his back. “its not a practice if you’re not there. Why do you think we stay for like 5 hours? Because you’re there going ‘one more! One more!” he smiled. “normal practices are only 1 hour I think” he said.

“they’re two” Daichi corrected, but still smiled. “Noyas right. Its not the same without you. so let us help you. We all came to help you”

“Im fine though!” Hinata said, louder than before. Why did they keep insisting something was wrong! He was just tired! why did something have to be wrong with him! “im not broken!”

“What?” Suga tilted his head. “of course you’re not broken. Your just sensitive. Its okay.” He pushed his bangs up and smiled. He wasn’t met with a smile back.

Hinata sniffled but he didn’t pull away from the peoples’ hands, even though they hurt. Just being touched hurt. he didn’t want the hands on him, he didn’t want the people here! They had a practice, they had things to do! Why were they here!

“let’s set up an area, using the pillows” Daichi looked to Noya. “So we can bring Hinata down with us. Ill carry him and we can have everyone in on this”

Noyas hand pulled away from his body and Hinata pulled his arms over his face. He didn’t know what to do, but he was just.. he was tired! everything was sore and he was tired and he just wanted to close his eyes and stay in the dark.

He could hear them moving around, moving things. One of them dropped a book, and within a few moments Hinata felt his body being dragged from his bed, and pulled into a spot on the floor, exposed, alone.

He wanted his blanket. He needed it. it was back on the bed, so far away. Everyone was just looking at him, staring at him. he wanted to cry. What part of him was broken? What part did he have to cover up? Why were they all just staring at him? it felt like hours. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t even blink.

He was trapped, and everyone was just looking at him.

He was only on the ground for a few seconds before everyone practically jumped on him, wrapping their body’s around or under him, making sure he wasn’t exposed at all. Suga took his left side, Daichi his right. Yamaguchi pulled Hinatas legs onto his lap, and Noya wiggled in underneath Hinata, so the smol was more leaning on him. everyone had a spot, and everyone was giving Hinata their all.

~

The scent coming from the bedroom upstairs was enough to turn Tsukis stomach. The mix of alpha and beta was overpowering, underlined by Hinatas sickly sweet scent. It was almost pouring from the room  like a liquid.

“He's so uncomfortable” Tsuki smirked to himself, thankful to be outside chopping herbs and not in some pile of bodies.

“Pardon?” his chef partner asked, turning to look at him. He had kind of forgotten her for a moment. Hinatas mother, chopping away as well.

“Its nothing” he smiled. “I can just smell Hinata from here. The teams got him good”

“You can really tell?” she asked, fascinated. “I can’t smell anything”

“well omegas have stronger noses” he shrugged. “more for survival, or helping others survive. Can you smell people when they’re scared or angry?”

She nodded.

“its kind of like that. But omega noses are able to pick up weaker smells, and differentiate between a number of emotions. Like angry, branches into offensive anger, or defensive anger. Scared branches into uncomfortable or terrified. Stuff like that”

“and Hinatas uncomfortable?” she smirked, repeating what Tsukki had said. He nodded.

“that’s just how being Touch Starved is though. That’s why its so important to not fall too far, because once you hit a threshold, you don’t want help. Its partially the depression that comes with it though. You’re sad, so you think you’re impeding on others when asking for Touch, or you avoid it because it both hurts, and its not worth their time”

“they teach you guys a lot more than they taught me in high school” she said, sighing.

Tossing the herbs in the pot, Tsukishima gave it a stir and added the bouillon cubes. “I have an omega brother as well. He's an idiot, so I do a lot of research”

“Is he older or younger?”

“Older. He's partnered off already and everything” he said, wanting off the subject, regretting he even brought it up. “Kageyama though” he didn’t let her speak. “Hinata thinks that the courting may be over”

“Oh! Is he not here?” she asked, “I've been meaning to meet him, but Hinata won’t bring him over”

“Yea, the king isn’t exactly a great catch” he said. “short tempered, violent, entitled. But Hinata still liked him for god knows why” he looked over at the mother, worry dotting her face.

“is he responsible for Shoyos state right now?”

“unknowingly” Tsukki gave credit to the setter. “stupid alphas, they don’t know anything. They leave us to deal with the messes”

“What do you mean?”

Tsukishima shook his head. “nothing. Im just not fond of that status, and would rather see most of them castrated.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

“because of your status?”

The blonde paused, before letting out a small chuckle. “Yea, I guess it is because im an omega.” He felt his phone buzz and he answered it, pocketing it again. “Im fine with omegas. There’s a lot of positives. Just.. when you throw in alphas..” his voice got lower and he was quiet for a few moments until the sound of the knife on the chopping board was all the sound he had to accompany the scents pouring down the stairs.

His phone rang a few more times, and he stepped out onto the backyard, both for privacy and fresh air.

“No Kuroo, im not doing that. I told you already” he said into his phone, hanging up. Why was he making him regret his decision to say yes?

~

“Noya your feet stink” Tanaka said, looking up at the libero. A toe was promptly stuck up his nostril.

“Guys” Daichi sighed, rubbing Hinatas side, the small boy was shivering. He was crying.

The team had noticed the tears pretty early, and most knew it was part of being Touch Starved, especially when you’re added into a doggy pile. Between being overwhelmed and sad because of the condition, having Touch forced on you wasn’t pleasant either. It wasn’t pleasant by any means, but dealing with that pain was the only way to come back from it. The only other option was to let him wallow in the misery, but that wasn’t Hinata.

Leaving omegas in a stage of Touch Starvations isn’t safe either. Depending on the omega, there could be a real risk of self harm, or self destruction. It wouldn’t be unheard of for a Touch Starved omega to seek  out anyone who would give affection, only to push them away because it hurt.

“If you want to sleep..” Suga whispered, kissing Hinatas forehead. “you can sleep through this. don’t worry, we will still be here”

Hinata didn’t answer. He sniffled his nose, gripping Noyas shirt underneath him. Noyas hand reached down and lay on top of Hinatas hand, the other one finding its way into Hinatas hair, pushing the bangs up like his own hair.

~

He asked to meet his mom. Hinata wanted him to meet his mom. What was next, Hinata wanted to meet his parents? Hell no. Hell NO. that wasn’t happening. Hinata was never going to set foot in this house. He would never see the kitchen the backyard, he didn’t even want Hinata to know his address. When he went home, he didn’t want to bring any part of Hinata here, because he wouldn’t leave the same.

How would Hinata feel after seeing the holes in the wall, or the broken tiles, or the unkempt kitchen or the cracked dining table. How would he feel, knowing that family dinners, family talks, or any time spent together as a family were the worst moments in Kageyamas day?

Pity.

Hinata would pity him.

Growing up, Kageyama was subjected to bullying by his own family. His parents, as alphas, ruled over him, and they thought they ruled over the other parent as well. Commands were tossed around, there was an endless stream of anger and angry scents and the number of times Kageyama couldn’t physically move because of his parent arguing were too many to count. He never wanted to come home.

Things changed after he presented. He was left home alone a lot more frequently. Apparently being an alpha meant he suddenly had the life skills to live on his own. He was given more responsibilities, and as such, he was given more punishments. That was, until he learned to fight back.

Hinata could never come here, he could ever meet his parents. He was such a happy ball of sunshine, he didn’t want him near the black hole that was his family. It was bad enough he was around Kageyama, but he had to protect him.

But its not like he could tell Hinata that. What did he even say when Hinata asked to see his home. What if he wanted to see baby pictures, or see his room, or what if he brought worksheets over when he was absent from school? Hinata would be curious at some point, and he would see the destruction that was his home.

So he researched. He was trying to find out how to protect his mate. he needed to know if violent tendencies were genetic, if Hinata was in danger, how witnessing violence affected omegas.

His worst fear was Hinata seeing his father violent, and trying to intervene. Kageyama had come to school one time with a black eye, and played it off as a bruise form bouncing the volleyball into his face on a low ceiling. The bruise was from his father punching him in the face for something so stupid, like turning on the dishwasher while he was in the shower.

And it just so happened his father was home for a week in between business trips.

“you’re home early” the violent mans words curled around Kageyama like a snake, making him feel sick. Why id he even come home. Why didn’t he go to an internet café or something?

Because his dad is never home, so he forgot.

He had been home for 3 days now, asking about school, about his friends. If he smelled Hinata on him at all, he would want to know more. If there was one thing he was more adamant about more than Hinata never coming over to his house, it was that his parents never EVER found out about Hinata.

He may not have enough power or resources to stand in front of Hinata and proudly protect him, but he would hide him to protect him until he was strong enough. He had to.

“your teacher called” the man said, his tone deepening.

“I don’t believe you” Kageyama said clutching his phone to keep his hands from shaking. “I’ve done well on all my tests. They have no reason to call” and he had spoken to his teachers about not calling. Did they really just ignore everything and call anyways?!

“calm down kid” the mans laugh was anything but reassuring. “It was about your sport thing. They needed approval for a day trip to a tournament soon” he said. “Would you be mad if I told them you couldn’t go?”

Kageyama almost snapped, wanting to scream. he took a few deep breaths, trying to keep down all of the aggression that was choking him. Every bell in his body was ringing that he was in a dangerous situation. His fight or flight reflexes were primed, considering how fast his fathers switch flips.

“im kind of an important player on the team” he answered, walking past the man into the kitchen to find food in the fridge.

“so” the voice curled out once again. “Are you courting anyone?”

Kageyamas blood ran cold. “no. Why?” he asked, trying to keep his tone level.

“well by your age I already had a mate” his father boasted. “not your mother. It was a bitchy little omega. Always smiling like her life was so great” he smirked. “I sold her like a year later”

“Sold?!” disgust piled into Kageyamas throat.

“Hell yea!” he laughed. “Once your mark of ownership is on one of the whores, they’re yours. You can actually sell them. I was half tempted to chain her to a bathroom stall, but that wouldn’t be nearly as fun as where I sold her off to” he looked around the house. “Where do you think I got the down payment for the house from”

The desire for food was all but eradicated from Kageyamas mind at this point. He wanted to scream. he wanted to yell and be angry and shout at that man. How could he be his father. How could a sick person exist! Was it nature, or nurture? Either way, what if those kinds of feelings were passed down. What I Kageyama started seeing everyone as a dollar sign? What if.. he didn’t even want to imagine it.

If his father found out about Hinata, there was no doubt in his mind that his father would try and mark and sell him too.


End file.
